The Brooklyn Museum will honor Virgil Abloh with a survey of his trailblazing work in the fashion industry.
According to the museum’s recently-released exhibition schedule, the “Figures of Speech” demonstration — “the first museum survey exhibition devoted to the late artist and designer Virgil Abloh”— is a new iteration of the fashion icon’s 2019 homonymous show at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. It aims to celebrate Abloh’s inspiring career with a display of his many creative ventures, including personal art and pieces from his time at Louis Vuitton, Nike and Off-White.
Abloh is credited for combining streetwear and luxury as well as breaking barriers for Black people in the fashion world. He passed away in November after privately battling a rare form of cancer. In the wake of his death, peers of the Off-White creative honored him with various tributes. Drake, for example, got a tattoo of Abloh, Kid Cudi dedicated his Rolling Loud California set to the star, and Vince Staples paid homage to Abloh in his song titled “What You Taught Us.”
The Brooklyn Museum also paid homage to the fashion icon’s life and legacy in a tribute that initially teased the forthcoming exhibition.
“Virgil‘s dedication to his artistry provided new opportunities and equitable pathways in art and design,” read the museum’s statement. “He will be remembered and celebrated through his legacy. Our heartfelt condolences are with his family.”
Louis Vuitton also celebrated the star on social media as well as in Miami, where they presented some new and old pieces at the “Virgil Was Here” show. Abloh’s final LV collection debuted at the Paris Fashion Week last month.
The Brooklyn Museum’s “Figures of Speech” exhibition, which is curated by Antwuan Sargent, is set to open this summer in July and will close months later on Jan. 29, 2023.