To be young, fashionable & BLACK.

Oh to be young, fashionable and BLACK in 2018. What did it mean?

Virgil Abloh is regarded as one of the pioneers of the street wear dominance that shook luxury fashion to its core and changed the way that black creatives and black art were received in high fashion spaces.

What makes something luxury? Who decides what makes something luxury? Who is allowed to create, design and project value onto luxury fashion? These are all questions that Virgil Abloh directly challenged and dismantled - ageing the old systems of a notoriously "gatekeeper" centric fashion world.

Born to Ghanaian immigrant parents, Virgil graduated with a degree in civil engineering and later completed a master's in architecture. So how did a man with no formal fashion training become the first black artistic director to serve at a French luxury fashion house? Maybe a conversation for another day, but allow this to be the foundation of understanding of the magnitude of the barriers broken by a fashion figure who should remain cemented in both black and fashion history.

By 2018 Virgil Abloh could only be likened to King Midas... everything he touched turned to gold and Off-White was considered the hottest label in the world, surpassing Alessandro Michele's Gucci. The tide of luxury fashion could consider itself changed - in some ways, forever.

Virgil's meteoric rise broke not just the rules, but the barriers that many people of colour faced in fashion - it provided them with broad shoulders to stand on and previously invisible entry points became wide open doors. Unfortunately, a tale as old as time - what goes up must come down and the fashion world tragically lost Virgil Abloh in 2021, mere months after penning a 60% Off-White acquisition deal with LVMH. An ambitious vision that would've only expanded upon his legacy as a change maker in fashion, that never had the opportunity to come to fruition.

Following his passing Off-White stalled when it came to appointing his replacement - undoubtedly large boots to fill. They ultimately settled on Ib Kamara of Dazed. Without speaking in numbers and profit margins, LVMH made the decision to sell Off-White to Bluestar Alliance in late 2024 and it became evident that Virgil's passing truly marked Off-White for death too. Founder-centric brands rarely survive the departure of their pioneers, as the brand only thrives as a true expression of their own personal vision and creative process. But I also believe that had Virgil been here to steer the ship, Off-White would have continued to thrive - because his greatest gift was his ability to read and respond to the cultural pulse of the moment. When quiet luxury arrived as fashion's recession response to streetwear excess, Virgil would have felt that shift and moved accordingly. Without him, the brand had no compass. It had only a name.

How have we allowed this to happen to one of our brightest figures in fashion history?

So where are we now? Fast forward to 2026 and just days after showing the FW26 Off-White collection, it was announced that Costco would begin retailing Off-White hoodies priced at $60 - a far cry from the average Off-White hoodie of 2018 ($700 average). The chronic devaluation of Off-White is something to be studied, and truly makes me question whether all of the barriers broken have led to the same conclusion we've seen time and time again - where black art is exploited, and then dropped or devalued.

Many have argued that this is what Virgil would've wanted - based on his collaborations with Nike and IKEA, his understanding of fashion democracy and accessibility. But I'd argue those decisions were creative statements, deliberate acts of barrier-breaking made by a man in full control of his vision. This Costco decision feels more like the last squeeze of a stone that has already given everything it had.

And yet - perhaps that is the lesson. Virgil always wanted to be a point of learning for others, to pay it forward, to arm those on the fringe with the knowledge to forge their own path and make a way for those behind them. If his rise was the inspiration, then his brand's decline is the curriculum. A cautionary tale is still a tale worth telling - and in death, as in life, Virgil Abloh is still teaching.