Now I’m going to keep it two Virgils with y’all, I was ready to steer clear of anything that Virgil put his name on. But how am I, a black woman, actively rooting for the demise of a black man? That seems backwards. So instead, I decided to come to Virgil as a woman, so that our concerns can be heard. This message’s intent is for the betterment of the black faces in fashion, and to inspire change in the industry.
Virgil Abloh is an American designer, the artistic director of Louis Vuitton, the first black person to ever hold this title, and the creator of the label, Off-White.
It is not up for debate, Virgil is one of the most iconic black men in the fashion industry. He has broken barriers and created new levels of achievements for not only black people in fashion, but for streetwear in general.
On the contrary, Virgil is far from perfect. Over the past two years, the discrepancies that he faces in this industry have been made very clear. In the midst of the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement, the conflict became Virgil vs. the black community. Cancel culture did not take this situation lightly. Many people swore off the designer due to what seemed like his lack of solidarity with the black community.
This wouldn’t be a come to Jesus meeting if we didn’t speak about the negatives that come with our friend. On several occasions Virgil has been called out for copying, white washing, and not using his black voice for the enhancement of our people.
In many instances creatives use references to help guide them on an artistic journey. These references may stem from archival pieces in fashion, maybe an image seen at a museum, or a person walking on the street. There is no wrong place to get inspiration. So the question presents itself, is Virgil copying, or is this simply his creative voice?
Since we are being frank, Virgil has never presented himself as a creative who comes up with never before seen things. A lot of what he showcases stems from an idea that has already been done. For instance, every collaboration that he does with Nike is based on an idea that has already established itself as great. Virgil added his touches to make it fit his brand. Adding something as simple as ‘Shoelaces’ in the helvetica font is his splash of creativity that consumers ate up.
In many creative spectrums, the rearrangement of ideas, creates a new idea. In poetry, they define it as the cento. While it may seem like it is unoriginal, it is actually a new idea based on inspirations from several different poets. The artist Marcel Duchamp defined himself as the first ‘artist as merchant’, this same idea can be taken when it comes to streetwear. Many streetwear designers use the rearrangement of different ideas to create something that is original. However, the streetwear niche should not be limited to this particular way of doing things.
A part of being a creative is being acceptant of all forms of art. Whether it reaches your level of understanding or not. With this new understanding of Virgil’s creative process, it is hard to slander him with plagiarism. So drawing an original design and cutting and sewing may not be Virgil’s speed, but does that allow him to be left out of conversations with the greats, or to be cancelled by the culture?
I have to say no. It would bring me great joy to see innovative and original ideas from Virgil, but thats not his process, and we have to accept him for who he is. With this new found realization, it would help if Virgil stood on his work, ten toes down. It makes things awkward when he acts oblivious or tries to defend the idea that his work is not taken from somewhere else.
Virgil has been called out for the lack of black faces seen on his Off-White team. While he defended this narrative as it only being one small portion of a very large, and diverse team, it pains me to say that it wasn’t convincing. As a black man in a very white washed industry, it should be imperative that there is black representation in every area possible.
Fortunately, in recent news, Virgil raised $1 million dollars to benefit scholarships for black fashion students. This is one huge step in the right direction. Since Virgil is one of the only black designers in such an esteemed position, he has the weight of the world on his shoulders. To take bullets for his successors, to make mistakes so that we don’t have to, and to lead by great example.
It is unfortunate that our leaders make mistakes and they are set out to be villainous. Despite our differences, we must come together to uplift and understand one another because nobody got us, like we got us. In the coming years we hope to continue to enforce change in the industry by eliminating white washing, placing value on black creatives, and allowing everyone be respected for their form of creativity.
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