Kanye West is ‘being lined up’ to replace the late Virgil Abloh as Louis Vuitton creative director… in a move allegedly orchestrated by the longterm friends before the designer’s death
Kanye West is reportedly being eyed as the next creative director for Louis Vuitton after the pᴀssing of Virgil Abloh.
According to The Sun, West and Abloh ‘masterminded’ the 44-year-old rapper’s alleged creative takeover prior to the late designer’s death.
Abloh, who served as the luxury brand’s artistic director for menswear, died on November 28 after battling a rare form of cancer, cardiac angiosarcoma, for two years. He was 41.
Kanye made Virgil the creative director of his content company Donda in 2010.
He’d go on to serve as artistic director for Kanye and longtime collaborator Jay-Z’s Watch The Throne album, which earned him a grammy nod for art direction at the 2012 ceremony.
Along with his partnership with West, Abloh allowed his own designs and artistic vision to flourish through the launch of his own line Off-White in 2013.
His groundbreaking fusions of streetwear and high couture made him one of the most celebrated tastemakers.
Virgil would become the first black American creative director of a top French fashion house after he was named as Louis Vuitton’s menswear creative director in 2018.
According to Forbes, the Louis Vuitton empire – founded in Paris, France in 1854 – is currently valued at nearly $50billion with $15billion in worldwide sales.
Over a decade ago, West’s collaboration with the brand on a line of sneakers proved to be mᴀssive success.
As reported by GQ, the 12-year-old sneakers surpᴀssed ‘the $1.5 billion mark in annual sales; in 2019.
Though they were retailed at just over $1100 upon their 2009 release, the sneakers are now worth over $30,000, ‘seeing a value increase of 2,532 per cent.’
Since 2009, Kanye has only further immersed himself into the fashion world with the launch of his Yeezy label in 2015.
The odd silhouettes and design choices that make Yeezy what it is has captured the hearts – and wallets – of fashion lovers around the world.
Though he may be slated to take over Louis Vuitton, West’s alleged ascent to power in not without a heavy heart as he continues to grieve Abloh’s very recent pᴀssing.
After news broke on November 29, the Grammy-Award winner hosted a Sunday Service vigil for his longtime friend.
As another display of unimaginable grief, West wiped his entire Instagram page of content.
