After Virgil Abloh’s death on November 28, the fashion establishment responded with an endless stream of tributes. The influence of the designer was outsize, extending into the corridors of music and culture with tastemakers like Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, Pharrell Williams, Drake and more attending his funeral on December 6th. Still, Abloh was more than that. With western media and its hegemonic appetite to dominate the news, Abloh within the white/European gaze was only convenient.
As a first-generation American-Ghanaian born to immigrant parents, the impulse exists in the Black diaspora to see the designer through different lenses. For those on the continent, he was simply inspiring. Take, for example, his contributions to Ghana’s emerging skateboarding scene, partnering with skate-minded collectives to actualize the country’s first skate park in Accra. Skating and streetwear will always remain inextricably linked. Abloh was the artistic director at Louis Vuitton, a label steeped in French heritage. One of Abloh’s wondrous successes was having streetwear further breach the forcefield of luxury, looping in haute streetwear from his personal brand Off-White.
In 2017, Anazado and his friends in Nigeria — namely Cosmas Ojemen and Adedayo Laketu — founded the brand, working it into themes of individuality and youth expression. “Virgil was a true innovator, his ideas of freedom to express without boundaries, to always be your inner child in a way that refreshing, creative, unique and unprecedented has been the founding ethos of my design philosophy and life in general,” Anazodo said. “He affected me and a lot of other Africans, hence he’s the greatest representation to a lot of us in the fashion, design and creative scene.”
In South Africa, Abloh has greatly inspired Thato Matabane, the founder and creative director of Afrikanswiss. Since 2006, denim has been integral to the brand’s design DNA, offering appealing configurations of the material.
“For the mere fact that Virgil was my age and of Ghanaian descent with absolutely amazing talent, I fell in love with him as a genius,” Matabane said. “I believe he turned LV into a bigger giant and more than ever, most Black folk were drawn to it. He brought a different and fresh edge to the brand. My favorite though is Off-White. What a brand. His artistic spirit will live on for eternity. He has surely inspired me and a lot more Black designers and creatives and planted a seed that will grow eternally.”
Kulaperry is the founder of Fear No Man, one of Ghana’s most recognizable streetwear brands. The brand has already been endorsed by Ghanaian celebrities like Sarkodie, Stonebwoy, Blakk Cedi, Medikal and even popular private jet broker Kelvin Mensah. Speaking on Abloh’s legacy, Kulaperry said: “He came, he conquered the world with his vision and made it clear that every man can accomplish anything they desire and if they stick to the truth. Many have gained strength and power to give and break through the impossible because of his influence. Many followed and wore him not as fashion but as a skin of belongingness. Many wore Virgil Abloh as an everlasting feeling. So I stand here, proud and tall for what this legend has done. He fought his battles in silence and cheered the crowd that there is hope for more.”
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