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Virgil Abloh Projects Politics Into His Florence Fashion Show Virgil Abloh Projects Politics Into His Florence Fashion Show
(about 17 hours later)
Nicolas Bourriaud said it first.Nicolas Bourriaud said it first.
Or maybe not first, but his argument on contemporary cultural practice, in the 2002 essay “Postproduction,” was definitive. As part of it, the French critic and curator argued that the dominant cultural figure of our era was the D.J. This was two years before Danger Mouse mashed up the Beatles and Jay Z to create “The Grey Album,” released the same year a young graduate student from Chicago was germinating ideas of his own about mixing up all kinds of cultural stuff.Or maybe not first, but his argument on contemporary cultural practice, in the 2002 essay “Postproduction,” was definitive. As part of it, the French critic and curator argued that the dominant cultural figure of our era was the D.J. This was two years before Danger Mouse mashed up the Beatles and Jay Z to create “The Grey Album,” released the same year a young graduate student from Chicago was germinating ideas of his own about mixing up all kinds of cultural stuff.
The student was Virgil Abloh. Now 36, he is a consummate illustration of Mr. Bourriaud’s thesis — a creative multi-hyphenate whose résumé includes stints as the guiding spirit behind Kanye West’s Yeezy; a party D.J. known as Flat White; a collaborator with musicians like Theophilus London and Sky Ferreira and with fashion labels as unalike as Moncler and Vlone. And as a designer, his own Off-White label, founded in 2013, fuses street style to high style, and has become a favorite of Rita Ora, Beyoncé and Rihanna, not to mention assorted Jenners and Hadids.The student was Virgil Abloh. Now 36, he is a consummate illustration of Mr. Bourriaud’s thesis — a creative multi-hyphenate whose résumé includes stints as the guiding spirit behind Kanye West’s Yeezy; a party D.J. known as Flat White; a collaborator with musicians like Theophilus London and Sky Ferreira and with fashion labels as unalike as Moncler and Vlone. And as a designer, his own Off-White label, founded in 2013, fuses street style to high style, and has become a favorite of Rita Ora, Beyoncé and Rihanna, not to mention assorted Jenners and Hadids.
On June 15 in Florence, Italy, this 21st-century Renaissance man will add political provocation to his list of exploits when, as a featured guest artist at the twice-yearly men’s wear fair Pitti Uomo, he will present a fashion installation created with the American artist Jenny Holzer and built around the international refugee crisis. “Having had the keys to the city, I wanted to do something Pitti had never done, something that represented something,” Mr. Abloh said. “Not just fashion for fashion’s sake.”On June 15 in Florence, Italy, this 21st-century Renaissance man will add political provocation to his list of exploits when, as a featured guest artist at the twice-yearly men’s wear fair Pitti Uomo, he will present a fashion installation created with the American artist Jenny Holzer and built around the international refugee crisis. “Having had the keys to the city, I wanted to do something Pitti had never done, something that represented something,” Mr. Abloh said. “Not just fashion for fashion’s sake.”
Reached at his home in Lincoln Park, Ill., before he took off for Europe, the peripatetic designer, who says he flies more than 350,000 miles a year, spoke of the path that led him, a child of Ghanaian immigrants raised in suburban Rockford, Ill., to one of the cities where modern Western culture began. Reached at his home in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago, before he took off for Europe, the peripatetic designer, who says he flies more than 350,000 miles a year, spoke of the path that led him, a child of Ghanaian immigrants raised in Rockford, Ill., to one of the cities where modern Western culture began.
How did the collaboration with Jenny Holzer come about?How did the collaboration with Jenny Holzer come about?
She has always impacted me as a designer, the scale of her work, and in particular the projections. My idea, upon seeing these large buildings, Brunelleschi’s dome in Florence, was to project text on that, using it as a canvas to express ideas.She has always impacted me as a designer, the scale of her work, and in particular the projections. My idea, upon seeing these large buildings, Brunelleschi’s dome in Florence, was to project text on that, using it as a canvas to express ideas.
That’s pretty ambitious.That’s pretty ambitious.
I was thinking about the political climate. I was thinking about the world the young generation inhabits and the headlines that are in the ether. If I have the gift of a voice, over a million Instagram followers, and kids that are inspired by moves that I make, I would be doing a disservice not to be ambitious and connect some dots. As a designer I always look for a voice that is commenting. In this case, I wanted a woman’s voice.I was thinking about the political climate. I was thinking about the world the young generation inhabits and the headlines that are in the ether. If I have the gift of a voice, over a million Instagram followers, and kids that are inspired by moves that I make, I would be doing a disservice not to be ambitious and connect some dots. As a designer I always look for a voice that is commenting. In this case, I wanted a woman’s voice.
Ms. Holzer said the texts you will be projecting in Florence include poems about war and exile from the civilian’s viewpoint, among them Anna Swir’s “Building the Barricade,” about her experiences as a nurse during the Warsaw Uprising, which, Ms. Holzer said, “could be about Syria.” How does that relate to your experience?Ms. Holzer said the texts you will be projecting in Florence include poems about war and exile from the civilian’s viewpoint, among them Anna Swir’s “Building the Barricade,” about her experiences as a nurse during the Warsaw Uprising, which, Ms. Holzer said, “could be about Syria.” How does that relate to your experience?
The underlying premise of our collaboration is the story line of my dad making it to America from Ghana. Immigration and the plight of refugees are at the center of what the show is all about. It is evident in the clothing itself, the set design, the garments, the text that is projected — ultimately, we decided to project the text in the plaza in front of the Palazzo Pitti — all those things that have an importance we feel passionate about.The underlying premise of our collaboration is the story line of my dad making it to America from Ghana. Immigration and the plight of refugees are at the center of what the show is all about. It is evident in the clothing itself, the set design, the garments, the text that is projected — ultimately, we decided to project the text in the plaza in front of the Palazzo Pitti — all those things that have an importance we feel passionate about.
That’s a surprising brief for a designer most associate with a label known for a high celebrity quotient and influencer cool.That’s a surprising brief for a designer most associate with a label known for a high celebrity quotient and influencer cool.
I always felt that art should reflect the culture of the time. The responsibility we have is to record the events of history within an artistic expression. Each season, I’ve found it more relevant to reflect the times in the work. Now that I have this platform of designing clothes and putting the message out there, it’s my job to do that. In a way, being a guest designer at Pitti Uomo gives me a vehicle for putting out ideas I learned from great mentors of mine about humanity and civic duty. The collection itself is a Trojan horse.I always felt that art should reflect the culture of the time. The responsibility we have is to record the events of history within an artistic expression. Each season, I’ve found it more relevant to reflect the times in the work. Now that I have this platform of designing clothes and putting the message out there, it’s my job to do that. In a way, being a guest designer at Pitti Uomo gives me a vehicle for putting out ideas I learned from great mentors of mine about humanity and civic duty. The collection itself is a Trojan horse.