The fashion and music world was left in mourning on Sunday (Nov. 28), following news that Virgil Abloh had passed away at age 41 after a two-year battle with a “rare, aggressive form” of cancer. Shortly after the announcement of Virgil’s death, the tributes from celebrities like Hailey Bieber, Gigi Hadid, and others started flowing in. For Kim Kardashian, she finally found the words to express her sadness and heartache on Monday (Nov. 29). Kim, 41, who became close to Virgil thanks to his creative partnership with Kanye West, posted an emotional tribute to her Instagram. “God doesn’t make mistakes. I know that but I still can’t help but ask why. Why Virgil?! Why him so soon?”
“[It’s simply hard to understand why,” continued Kim. “I have a hard time understanding why so many pure souls were taken away so early. Virgil- you were always so gentle, kind and calm. You somehow made time for everyone. We also talked about your superpower of calmness often. You always gave so much of yourself to the world because you wanted it to be doper. This one is hard to process. I can’t even believe I am writing this… We will miss you so much Virgil and love you so much. Also I would love to send so much love to his wife Shannon. Because you loved and supported Virgil the way that you did, he was able to give so much of himself everyone else. So thank you truly for sharing him with us the way that you did. Virgil’s legacy will live on forever through Shannon, Lowe and Grey.”
Kanye, 44, honored his friend and collaborator during his Nov. 28 edition of his Sunday Service. At t the end of the livestream performance, a title card read, “In loving memory of Virgil Abloh, the creative director of Donda.” Kanye and Virgil first met in the early 2000s when he met with Ye’s then-manager John Monopoly, per Vogue. The two began working together at that point. In 2009, they worked as interns at Fendi in Rome. “I was really impressed with how [Abloh and West] brought a whole new vibe to the studio and were disruptive in the best way, “Louis Vuitton CEO Michael Burke said, “Virgil could create a metaphor and a new vocabulary to describe something as old-school as Fendi.” In 2010, Virgil officially assumed the role of Creative Director at Donda, Ye’s creative agency. He was the art director for Watch The Throne, which earned him a Grammy Nomination.
Virgil and Kanye clashed after Abloh left Donda to become the artistic director of Louis Vuitton’s menswear collections. “When they say he was my creative director, that’s incorrect. He was a creative collaborator,” Kanye told Axel Vervoordt in a conversation for The Hollywood Reporter in 2018. “I had been dealing with a very heavy concept this week that I couldn’t get out of my head… It’s not bad or good. It’s my creative collaborator being the head of Louis Vuitton.” However, whatever beef Virgil and Ye had, they squashed it by mid-2018. When Virgil presented his first menswear collection during Paris Men’s Fashion Week, Kanye broke down in joyful tears for his friend, per Entertainment Tonight.
The official social media pages for Virgil, Louis Vuitton, Off-White (Virgil’s fashion house) shared the news of his death, saying that he battled cardiac angiosarcoma “privately since his diagnosis in 2019, undergoing numerous challenging treatments, all while helming several significant institutions that span fashion, art, and culture.” Many of Virgil’s friends and celebrity clients paid tribute to him after his death. Virgil designed a wedding dress for Hailey Bieber (née Baldwin), and she called him a “once in a generation creative mind.” Victoria Beckham said he was a “true inspiration in so many ways.” Khloé Kardashian posted a series of white dove emojis, followed by a string of broken heart emojis. Kris Jenner sent all her love to “his beautiful family,” while Kendall Jenner said that her friend was “bright,” “kind,” and “full of love.”