With the fashion industry still buzzing about his Louis Vuitton debut, Virgil Abloh recently sat down with iconic model and contributing editor for British Vogue, Naomi Campbell, for a candid interview. During the 13-minute discussion in Paris, Virgil touched on his relationship with Kanye West, early experiences with fashion and his current path at LV.
When asked about the emotional hug he shared with Kanye at the end of his debut LV men’s show, Virgil said, “Kanye was the guy when it was completely unpopular that said, ‘I am not to be typecast into a box,’ like, he willed it for us. Going back, he was like, ‘We’re going to Fashion Week,’ this place where we can’t get in. That dream is his just as much as it’s mine. In my dream, it was him down the runway,” proving just how important the Chicago rapper was in his career.
Abloh later went on to add, ”That show was us. That link wouldn’t have happened unless I had acknowledged that Kanye stood from a mountaintop long ago and yelled, saying, ‘The future of fashion will be like this!’ I wanted the world to see that the guy who fought for this moment is a part of it and is uniquely linked to me doing it.” Moving on to talk about his appointment as Artistic Director of Louis Vuitton, Virgil noted the mark he wants to make, saying “they’re allowing me to place my full collections in the same archives that go back to 1854, so that, to me, you can’t erase that . . . I want us to be remembered.”
Catch Virgil Abloh and Naomi Campbell’s full candid sit down conversation above.
In case you missed it, catch our backstage look at Virgil Abloh’s landmark Louis Vuitton debut.