Virgil Abloh, the visionary American fashion designer behind the nine-year-old Off-White brand of streetwear, died of cancer on Sunday Nov. 28, aged 41. While his collection consists mainly of clothing, including many sweatshirts and some jogging pants, Nike has been partnering since 2016 with Abloh on some special sneakers, with a re-edition of the Air Jordan 1 being named “sneaker of the year” for 2017. “He was a creative force who shared a passion for challenging the status quo, pushing forward a new vision while inspiring multiple generations along the way,” said Nike in a tweet.

Abloh started his fashion career in 2008 as creative adviser to Kanye West. Both of them had been interns at Fendi. Three years ago, after collaborating with Off-White, LVMH hired the black designer as artistic director for Louis Vuitton’s menswear collection. The world’s largest luxury goods group acquired a 60 percent stake in Off-White in August 2021. In addition to Kanye West and Nike, many well-known artists, designers and sports personalities paid tribute to Abloh. Many praised him not only for his creativity, but also for his humanity, openness and kindness. One of them was Kylian Mbappé, the striker of the French Paris-Saint-Germain football team, who wore a pair of Nike football boots designed in collaboration with Off-White in the final of a tournament in 2018.

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