In light of everything happening in regards to police brutality, the fashion industry is scrambling to find the right words. In the past, the industry has arguably turned a blind eye to the Black Lives Matter movement and designers like Kerby Jean-Raymond have found themselves speaking to an industry that see’s his work as “groundbreaking” but ultimately ignores the message he encompasses through his garments. While there are few black industry mavens that hold high-power positions, Off-White creator and Louis Vuitton menswear designer Virgil Abloh is one of them. This weekend, black creatives expressed their distaste for the designer after he sent out mixed messages regarding the chaos that has transpired regarding the death of George Floyd.
While there were peaceful protesting throughout parts of the country, other protest resulted in multiple luxury stores in Los Angeles, New York City, and Chicago being completely looted. Abloh and his white streetwear counterparts were not exempt as most of them hold store fronts in LA. “We’re about of a culture together, is this what you want,” Abloh wrote on Instagram after Sean Wotherspoon’s Round Two Vintage was ransacked.
His outcry left Black creatives confused due to Abloh’s unusual silence on Black and brown issues. While Abloh employs rappers like 21 Savage to model campaigns, his touch on the culture usually stops there. He’s been able to grab the masses and support of the black community while separating himself from social issues.
There were many telling instances with Virgil but the one for me was when this young Black designer, Wole Olosunde, shared how excited he was to meet Virgil + show him a glasses design he completed That young man’s glasses were ripped off in the Off-White SS19 Collection smh
pic.twitter.com/jqCWCOdANm
— Shelby Ivey Christie (@bronze_bombSHEL) June 1, 2020
Shortly after the internet caught word about Abloh’s post, photos including his rumored all-white staff pictures began to circulate and fashion historian Shelby Ivey Christie pointed out that Abloh was under fire last year for allegedly stealing from a young black designer by the name of Wole Olosunde.
Amidst the backfire, the designer donated $50 to a fund created by Fempower to bail out protestors in Miami. For some, this donation was a little too late. “A donation is a donation we suppose? Thankful for all the humor that this has brought,” wrote a rep on the Fempower Instagram story.
The question of if Virgil is truly “for the culture,” arises again.
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