Virgil Abloh, the founder of fashion label Off-White and Artistic Director of menswear at Louis Vuitton, died November 28 after a long battle with a rare cancer. He was 41 years old and his death was confirmed by the French fashion house.
Abloh had cardiac angiosarcoma, a rare and aggressive cancer, for at least two years, said parent company LVMH.
“We are all shocked after this terrible news,” company CEO Bernard Arnault said in a statement on Twitter.
“Virgil was not only a genius designer, a visionary, he was also a man with a beautiful soul and great wisdom. The LVMH family joins me in this moment of great sorrow, and we are all thinking of his loved ones after the passing of their husband, their father, their brother, or their friend.”
Abloh became LVMH menswear line creative director in 2018, the first black designer in that role.
He is survived by his wife, Shannon, and his two children, Lowe and Grey Abloh, as well as his sister and his parents.