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On Sept. 30, 2025, the Grand Palais in Paris opened its doors to Virgil Abloh: The Codes, the first major European exhibition dedicated to Abloh’s work. Timed to what would have been his 45th birthday and staged during Paris Fashion Week, the show feels like much more than a tribute or celebration. Bringing Abloh’s expansive vision back to the city that shaped so much of his practice marks a full-circle moment for the impact he has had on culture. The exhibition traces nearly two decades of his career, reaffirming his place as one of the defining creative forces of the 21st century.
Abloh seemed to constantly be giving the world something new, whether it was his latest collection for Off-White, an Air Jordan he dreamed of designing as a kid, or just a free flow of ideas in hopes that the next generation will latch onto his advice. As he explained in a Complex interview from 2020, it’s a level of work ethic he borrowed from one of his heroes, Michael Jordan.
“When you watch the Michael Jordan documentary, it’s safe to say that he didn’t take any days off. He didn’t even take recreational sports off, a card game to a golf game was as equal to a Finals championship. And once I saw that as a local role model, I just applied that to things that I was into,” said Abloh. “I don’t take days off. I don’t sleep. I don’t go on vacation. I enjoy life, it’s not all that I do, but it’s my thing. You pick your head up and you see what he achieved, a simple game of putting a ball in a hoop, he advanced the whole idea of it. And I look at design and culture that way.”
It cannot be overstated exactly how much Abloh was able to accomplish in his 41 years on this earth. By no means are these all of his accolades, but here are some of Abloh’s biggest career milestones.
When: 2012
The connection that Virgil Abloh and Kanye West have is no secret. The two were initially introduced to each other by West’s former manager, John Monopoly, back in the 2000s. A few years later, the two would intern together at Fendi in 2009. Eventually, the connection would lead to West hiring Abloh to be the creative director of his creative agency, DONDA, which was founded in 2012. It was a running joke that DONDA was just “Virgil’s laptop.” The agency, which also employed names such as Joe Perez, Matthew M. Williams, Jerry Lorenzo, Justin Saunders, and Samuel Ross created West’s visuals throughout the 2010s. Tour designs, album covers, and overall art direction for projects like Yeezus and Cruel Summer were among some of the most memorable work. Abloh’s work on 2011’s Watch the Throne even earned him a Grammy nomination for Best Recording Package. While the specifics of Abloh’s time at DONDA are not well-documented, the final products helped define an entire generation of music for plenty of people.
“Virgil’s role at DONDA was to figure out how aspiration could be turned into actual projects,” Michael Rock told GQ in 2019. “It was about going from minute details to the broadest possible reach: You create music for a show, then you create a stage for the show, then you create the media for the show, then you create the effects for the show, and then you create merchandise for the whole thing, then maybe you create a pavilion that travels with an art project by Vanessa Beecroft.”
When: 2012
While working at DONDA, Abloh also started a side venture along with Matthew M. Williams, Heron Preston, and Justin Saunders titled Been Trill. What was initially intended to be a DJ collective to host parties quickly morphed into a full-fledged brand. Influenced heavily by bootleg culture, the brand became known for its dripping “Been Trill” logo and use of giant italicized hashtags on various items, a subtle precursor to some of the signature logos that would represent Abloh’s Off-White years later. Been Trill even operated a pop-up retail space on Canal Street in New York, an infamous destination for bootlegging, to add to the ambience. The brand quickly developed a cult following in the fashion world for its immediately recognizable graphics and co-signs from stars such as Kanye West, ASAP Rocky, and Rihanna. Collaborators included Hood By Air, Stussy, and Travis Scott. Just as quickly as Been Trill became the “it” brand, it faded into irrelevancy. In 2015, the brand was sold to PacSun and was essentially stripped of its “cool” factor in the process. Nevertheless, Been Trill caught lightning in a bottle for those handful of years and acted as a launching pad for all of its co-founders into much bigger ventures.
When: 2012
Before Off-White, Virgil Abloh had Pyrex Vision. The brand acted as his first official foray into fashion and was known for signature items like Champion mesh shorts with “PYREX’’ printed across the front, hoodies displaying Carvaggio’s The Entombment of Christ (a trend that would carry over to Off-White), and infamously repurposed Rugby flannels that were printed with giant “PYREX 23” branding across the back and sold for $500+. The number 23 is, of course, a nod to the man that Abloh has referred to as “his Superman,” Michael Jordan. And we can’t forget about the ASAP Mob-assisted video for the brand either. Like Been Trill also was at the time, Abloh’s Pyrex became one of the most coveted streetwear brands on the market. Also similar to Been Trill, it vanished almost instantly. One year later, Pyrex Vision was no more, and Abloh was onto his next brand. But, as it turns out, that was sort of Abloh’s plan.
“I didn’t make a conscious decision one day that I wanted to be a designer. I made Pyrex, which in my mind was more like an art piece. It was a ten-minute film that I wanted to make, and I needed clothing to support this idea of a team with no sport,” Abloh told GQ in 2019. “I was very intent on stopping it before it really got started.”
The name Pyrex Vision was directly pulled from Juelz Santana’s iconic verse on “Dipset Anthem”: “Back to the kitchen, that pyrex vision.” Abloh also told Union in a blog post that it was also inspired by Pusha T’s classic coke raps, where Pyrex cookware is aptly mentioned on songs like “Mr. Me Too” (“Pyrex stirs turn into Cavalli furs.”) It became a full circle moment when you consider an instrumental version of the classic Clipse track soundtracked a segment of Louis Vuitton’s SS22 presentation in Miami this past Tuesday, which served as a tribute to the late designer.
When: 2013
Fresh off the success of Pyrex Vision, Abloh launched his streetwear-leaning luxury brand, Off-White, in 2013 with the financial backing of Italy’s New Guards Group. Many of the motifs introduced with Pyrex Vision were repurposed in Off-White such as collegiate lettering and the use of Renaissance paintings as graphics on T-shirts and hoodies. New symbols are introduced too like quotation marks, arrows, and construction-theme diagonal stripes that would become the brand’s signature motifs moving forward. Across the next eight years, Off-White would become one of the most in-demand brands in the world. Its yellow industrial belts would become one of the most recognizable accessories of an era, for better or worse depending on who you ask, and its popularity would further the acceptance of streetwear in the once waspy world of luxury fashion.
On the runway, Abloh also continued to push the envelope too. The clothes were obviously important, but it was always about more than just the material items for Abloh. Take, for instance, his Fall/Winter 2020 presentation that opened with tap dancer Cartier Williams performing in a T-shirt that read “I Support Young Black Businesses” in bold red lettering. He always kept his streetwear sensibilities intertwined too. Perhaps the most obvious example came during his Fall/Winter 2021 presentation which was highlighted by various ball gowns that had been fused with elements of Arc’teryx shell jackets.
When: 2017
Arguably one of the most important sneaker collaborations we have ever seen, Abloh released “The Ten” in 2017. The 10-sneaker collection was Abloh’s interpretation of Nike’s most iconic (and in some cases newest) silhouettes: the Air Jordan 1, Air Force 1, Air Presto, Air Max 90, Air Max 97, Blazer, Zoom Fly SP, Hyperdunk, VaporMax, and Converse Chuck Taylor. His vision was achieved through now-signature additions like zip ties, orange tabs, and quotations used to call out specific materials and elements of each model like “AIR” or “FOAM.” The big project was given an equally as big reveal as Abloh held an “Off Campus” summit on Wall Street, which hosted speakers from legendary figures like director Spike Lee to pro skater Eric Koston. Of course, select attendants also got a chance at copping the coveted pairs that day as well.
What we know now is that “The Ten” was only a starting point for Abloh’s work with Nike. In the years that followed, the multi-hyphenate would continue to flip Nike designs on their head with his unorthodox design language. He would design models for tennis legend Serena Williams, introduce lifestyle sneakers fitted with rubber track spikes, deconstruct the Air Jordan 5 and place swiss cheese-like holes across its upper that the wearer was meant to carve out with an X-Acto knife if they wanted to, and craft various Air Force 1s to mark his museum exhibits. In 2021 alone, he released 50 different colorways of the Nike Dunk. Just weeks prior to his death, he delivered his take on the Air Jordan 2 Low complete with faux crumbled midsoles to represent the natural aging of product. And there are still more sneakers in the pipeline: a redesigned Air Force 1 Mid and Blazer Low, among them. In a marriage of two of Abloh’s creative spaces, a series of Louis Vuitton Air Force 1s is slated to release in 2022.
Abloh’s collaborations with Nike redefined hype. While not everyone may have liked all of them everyone wanted at least one of them. They became a status symbol for a new generation. And although hype and exorbitant resell prices were attached to his work, that was far from his intention. He just wanted to make items that had meaning.
“It’s the perfect partnership. A lot of my ability to create is with the freedom and respect for the brand. I’m trying to restore that feeling that I had when I got my first pair when they originally came out,” Abloh told Complex in 2020 when speaking on his collaborative partnership with Nike. “I’m trying to give that to a young customer today and to the culture itself. So they give me a lot of freedom, I think, because I respect the brand, the craft and the heritage of sport as much as I do. So I take it with great responsibility.”
When: 2018
In March 2018, Abloh made history when he became the first Black designer appointed as the men’s artistic director of Louis Vuitton. He was the successor to Kim Jones who would go on to be the artistic director of Dior Homme, a position he still holds currently.
“This opportunity to think through what the next chapter of design and luxury will mean at a brand that represents the pinnacle of luxury was always a goal in my wildest dreams,” Abloh told the New York Times when discussing his new role back in 2018. “And to show a younger generation that there is no one way anyone in this kind of position has to look is a fantastically modern spirit in which to start.”
In a way, Abloh getting this position at Louis Vuitton is the manifestation of that iconic Tommy Ton photo from 2009. We all know the one by now. Model, actor, and close friend of Abloh, Luka Sabbat, perhaps illustrated the importance of Abloh’s appointment best for GQ. “Louis Vuitton felt like a team win. It was a milestone that was bigger than the clothes, or anything else. It was, like, the biggest linkup ever.”
When: 2018
Our first look at LV’s Abloh era came in June 2018 for the brand’s Spring/Summer 2019 presentation at Paris Fashion Week. The now-iconic runway show took on a Wizard of Oz theme complete with a rainbow runway and various looks that pulled from the film such as crinkled metallic silver ponchos or knit sweaters with the silhouettes of the main protagonists stitched on the front. Clunky orange chain links were added to the fashion house’s signature monogrammed leather goods. Others were given a metallic silver overhaul by Abloh that made the bags feel fresh and a unique byproduct of Abloh. Musicians like Playboi Carti, Sheck Wes, ASAP Nast, and Kid Cudi, who just years earlier may have been turned away at the door, were some of the recognizable faces who walked in the show. At the show’s conclusion, there was also the emotional embrace between Abloh and Kanye West that has since become a go-to visual representation to illustrate the magnitude of the festivities.
Over the course of the next three years, Abloh continued to bring his unique lens to one of the world’s most storied fashion houses and provide other Black creators a platform in the process. He collaborated with legendary artists like Chicago’s Reggieknow to create characters that represented his Spring/Summer 2021 collection. He tapped Don C to help him design an entire capsule with the NBA. He gave pro skater Lucien Clarke a signature sneaker. He invited names like Quavo and Westside Gunn to sit front row at his shows. He soundtracked his presentations with songs by artists from Clipse to Tyler, the Creator. He was blending the worlds of streetwear and luxury on a scale that had not been seen before. Abloh may have literally held the position at LV, but he was making sure as many of his peers could take part in the experience right along with him, one that for so long was not available to Black creators.
“I got in touch with [Pop Smoke and Westside Gunn] myself because I wanted them to come to Paris for the first time and not have to deal with the scrutiny, or that feeling of ‘you don’t belong here’ that we did when we were there 10 years before,” Abloh told Complex back in 2020. “It was literally the idea that I’m paying homage to them because I was listening to their music when I made these collections. I want you to sit front row and feel like you belong here too because you were my inspiration.”
When: 2019
On June 10, 2019, Virgil Abloh’s “Figures of Speech” exhibit opened to the public at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, a tangible testament to just how much the man was able to create. Among the highlights included images of fellow Chicago legend Chief Keef in an unreleased Supreme Box Logo t-shirt bearing the colors of the Pan-African flag, a table displaying dozens of sneaker samples ranging from Air Jordan 4s to Air Prestos, a sector dedicated to Pyrex Vision complete with a projection of the original ad campaign, and displays showcasing arguably his most well-known album cover work, Yeezus. Along with the exhibit, which ran until Sept. 29, 2019, Abloh made sure to give fans who may not be able to attend the space a piece of his vision through special apparel drops ranging from all-blue pairs of his Off-White x Nike Air Force 1 to neon-colored trucker caps bearing Off-White signature arrows logos.
“That journey is essentially what we’re putting on display here so that kids coming to the city have a reflection of what they see in the outside world in a different context,” Abloh told Complex of the exhibit back in 2019.
When: 2019
In November 2019, Virgil Abloh launched his MARKERAD collection of home goods with IKEA. The affordable items, which included numberless wall clocks, wooden chairs with door stops on the legs, and backlit prints of the Mona Lisa, each further democratized Abloh’s takes on luxury design. Perhaps the most sought after items from the drops were the rugs made to look like a giant IKEA receipts, patches of “WET GRASS,” and persian rugs with “KEEP OFF” ironically printed at the center.
“It’s about elevating the anonymous, everyday icons that we use without noticing. When we put a doorstop on one of the legs of an ordinary chair we create something unexpected–an interruption,” said Abloh in an official press release for the collection.
When: 2021
Louis Vuitton’s live Spring/Summer 2022 presentation took place just two days after news broke of the tragic and sudden passing of Abloh. The show, held at the graffiti-covered Miami Marine Stadium during Art Basel Miami, acted as a fitting tribute to the designer in many ways. Attendants were shuttled to the pier via speedboats. Upon arrival, they were greeted by a giant red hot air balloon and a three-story tall statue of the man himself colored up in an orange, yellow, and blue gradient paint job. Dozens of Abloh’s closest friends and collaborators like Don C, Kanye West, Pharrell, Jerry Lorenzo, Ibn Jasper, Nigo, Matthew M. Williams, Tremaine Emory, Lil Baby, Gunna, and more sat in attendance. Others, like Kid Cudi, Quavo, Offset, Stevie Williams, and Kareem Campbell actually walked in the show. Tracks like “Momma I’m So Sorry” and “Mr. Me Too” by the Clipse soundtracked sections of the presentation and had the audience visibly bobbing in excitement. It was a perfect illustration of the influence and vision that Abloh was able to bring to LV during his time there. In 2009, Abloh and company could barely sneak into shows in Paris. By 2021, Abloh had kicked down the door and was letting in everyone he could to experience these moments.
The closing of the show was by far the most emotional point. Instead of Abloh making his customary final walk, members of the design team that worked alongside him gathered at centerstage in embrace. Some were moved to tears. A multicolored light show lit up the stadium’s bleachers as a quote from Abloh played over the speakers. “There’s no limit. Life is so short that you can’t waste even a day subscribing to what someone thinks you can do versus what you can do.” This was followed by a fireworks display over the water and series of drone placements lighting up the night sky to spell out Abloh’s initials, create LV’s monogram and Damier prints, and flying paper planes. Abloh may not have been present physically, but there was certainly no denying it. As the presentation title stated, Virgil was here.
When: 2025
On what would have been Virgil Abloh’s 45th birthday, Paris once again became the stage for his vision. The Virgil Abloh Archive, in partnership with Nike, opened Virgil Abloh: The Codes at the Grand Palais, the first major European exhibition dedicated to his work.
The exhibition showcases the expansive universe of Abloh, from fashion and music to design, with garments, prototypes, sketches, and personal artifacts drawn from his 20,000-object archive. Curators Chloe Sultan and Mahfuz “Fuz” Sultan framed it all through his “codes,” the design language that connected his multidisciplinary work. Visitors moved between Off-White samples, Nike sneakers, architectural models, and even pieces from Abloh’s personal library. Each object is a reminder of how he reshaped the cultural landscape.
Shannon Abloh, widow of the late designer, CEO of the Virgil Abloh Foundation, and president of the Archive, called staging the exhibition in Paris a homecoming: “I could only imagine debuting this in Paris, Virgil’s second home. A city whose creative energy perfectly lends to the spirit of Codes…” She added, “Sharing his personal collection, unfinished projects, and magnum opuses with the public is a monumental way we celebrate Virgil’s legacy and his commitment to making information accessible and collaborative.”
Adding to the sense of cultural homecoming, Colette, the legendary Parisian concept store, returned for the duration of the exhibition. The shop offers new merch designed by Abloh’s closest collaborators such as Cactus Plant Flea Market and Travis Scott, alongside special reissues like the Virgil Abloh™ x Braun alarm clock and a French edition of Abloh-isms. Colette stocked Abloh’s third-ever T-shirt, “Medallions en bleu”, in 2008.
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