Fashion house Louis Vuitton has hosted the late designer Virgil Abloh’s final runway presentation to “celebrate his legacy” just days after his death, aged 41.
It was attended by celebrities including Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, Rihanna, Bella Hadid, Joe Jonas and Pharrell Williams at a secluded location in Miami.
Michael Burke, Louis Vuitton’s chairman, said: “As a devoted supporter of his community through his charities and passions, [Virgil] was an eternal optimist who believed anything was possible.
“In this same spirit, we at Louis Vuitton will proudly continue to celebrate his legacy with a final show in Miami, per his wishes.”
In true Louis Vuitton style, guests were delivered to the venue in branded luxury yachts, while hot air balloons and fireworks lit up the skies above the venue.
The catwalk showcased Abloh’s spring/ summer 2022 collection under the title ‘Virgil was here’ and paid tribute to his playful and futuristic style that characterised much of his career.
After the final procession, members of the LV design team gathered to tearfully bid farewell as a soundbite of Virgil played atop swelling strings: “Life is so short that you can’t even waste a day subscribing to what someone thinks you can do, versus what you can do.”
On Monday, the fashion giant announced his death on social media. They said: “LVMH, Louis Vuitton and Off White are devastated to announce the passing of Virgil Abloh, on Sunday, November 28, of cancer, which he had been battling privately for several years.
Bernard Arnault, chief executive of LVMH, said “We are all shocked by this terrible news. Virgil was not only a genius designer and a visionary, he was also a man with a beautiful soul and great wisdom.
“The LVMH family joins me in this moment of great sorrow and we are all thinking of his loved ones on the passing of their husband, father, brother, son and friend.”
In 2018, Abloh became the first Black artistic director of menswear at Louis Vuitton in the French design house’s storied history. He also founded the luxury fashion brand Off-White.
At Louis Vuitton, Abloh was praised for bringing in a younger demographic, with menswear collections that blurred the lines between high fashion and streetwear, as well as pushing artistic boundaries and challenging traditional gender norms.
He grew up outside of Chicago, his first generation Ghanaian-American seamstress mother teaching him to sew.
Virgil had a rare, aggressive form of cancer, cardiac angiosarcoma, which he kept private for more than two years.
He is survived by his wife, Shannon, and two children.
