Friday Top Five:: 12.16.21
Each week our ‘Friday Top Five’ segment, we feature five things we thought were interesting, notable, or culturally significant. This week we are showcasing stories on Virgil Abloh and his impact on culture at large.
Born in Rockford, Illinois U.S.A. in 1980 – Virgil Abloh is an artist, architect, and fashion designer. After earning a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he completed a Master’s degree in Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology. It was here at the Illinois Institute of Technology, where he was introduced to a curriculum, originally established by Mies van der Rohe. A curriculum which was formed from the notions of Bauhaus, that enabled Virgil Abloh to learn how to converge the fields of arts, craft, and design. Those notions merged with contemporary culture make up his inter-disciplinary practice today. For details, please visit the following website.https://canary---yellow.com/
Virgil Abloh is a longtime creative consultant to Kanye West and the founder of the award-winning luxury fashion label Off-White™. The Chicago-based designer received his Masters of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology and his undergraduate in Civil Engineering at the University of Madison-Wisconsin. His design for the West Loop restaurant Honey's has been lauded as one of the best new restaurants in Chicago in 2016. In 2015 Off-White™ was nominated as one of the top eight finalists for the LVMH Prize in Paris. Abloh was named in the BOF 500 "The People Shaping The Global Fashion Industry" List and nominated for one of the top five nominees in the category of International Urban Luxury Brand at The British Fashion Awards in 2016. He was nominated for a Grammy Award for Album Packaging for his creative direction of the 2011 album "Watch the Throne" by Kanye West and Jay Z.
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Story-1:: Virgil Abloh’s Lecture at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design
Overview: “What's my DNA?” Virgil Abloh asks to an overflowing auditorium at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Abloh goes on to provide his audience with a “cheat code”—advice he wishes he had received as a student. He then unpacks a series of “shortcuts” for cultivating a “personal design language.” Trained as an architect and engineer, Abloh has translated the tools and techniques of his student days into the world of fashion, product design, and music. His label, Off-White, works in seeming contradictions, marrying streetwear with couture, collaborating with brands like Nike, Ikea, and the Red Cross; musicians like Lil Uzi Vert and Rihanna; and “mentors” like Rem Koolhaas. Impervious to hurdles (“They literally don't exist.”), Abloh takes us behind the scenes of his design process, sharing the essentials of editing, problem-solving, and storytelling. He paints a picture of his DNA, and then flips the question: What's your DNA? The Incidents is a series of publications based on events that occurred at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design between 1936 and tomorrow. Edited by Jennifer Sigler and Leah Whitman-SalkinCopublished with the Harvard University Graduate School of DesignLess
Link: Youtube.com | Buy Online
“His expansive approach to design inspired comparisons to artists including Andy Warhol and Jeff Koons. For him, clothes were totems of identity.”
Story-2:: Brand DNA Event - Virgil Abloh + Samuel Full.
Overview: Hear from Virgil Abloh and Samuel Ross about their personal ideologies and gain tangible advice about how to brand yourself and your ideas.
Link: youtube.com
Story-3:: Virgil Abloh. Nike. ICONS - Hardcover
Overview: In 2016, Nike and Virgil Abloh joined forces to create a sneaker collection celebrating 10 of the Oregon-based company’s most iconic shoes. With their project The Ten—which reimagines icons like Air Jordan 1, Air Max 90, Air Force 1, and Air Presto, among others—they reinvigorated sneaker culture. After the 10, Virgil went on to create more shoes with Nike but this book highlighted those interesting trends.
Link: Moma.org
Story-4:: DJ Set - Televised Radio
Overview: Like so many others coming out of Chicago, house music is important to the culture, and just something you grew up on. Abloh had the opportunity to play for some of the biggest music festivals but also played small little venues and found a unique way to bridge hip-hop with techno.
With releases of his own, and releases with the like of Germany’s Boy Noise he seemed to leap from genre to genre, scene to scene with ease. On top of the music itself, he was able to connect with Pioneer DJ on more than one instance to produce some silly amazing gear. There was a clear set of CDJ’s and DJM mixer that if Pioneer was smart, they would release for commercial availability. Then there was the two-toned DJM-1000 that was white and orange but good luck getting your hands on one, they are currently going for $5,500 on StockX.com. So before we jump to the next topic, check out one of his more recent sets where he jumps from genre to genre all on his Televised Radio Station.
Link: youtube.com
Story-5:: SNKR TIME
Overview: Follow my Instagram, talk to me for a few minutes, you will know sneaker culture has been and continues to be a large component of things I am into. Virgil not only made shoes for his Off White brand, but he also made shoes for LV and of course Nike. While the Shoes did not beat his name, they often had his signature “in quotes” messaging and were stripped-down versions of their former self. Below are a few highlights of some of my favorites
General links to check out all of his social content. Because he was creating so much, across so many channels, we didn’t include everything, but feel free to add additional sites in the comments.
Website & Social Accounts:
Interesting Articles to check out:
