A r t s & C u ltu r e
December 3, 2021
ARTS & CULTURE Established 1874
Volume 151, Number 7
Virgil Abloh, Fashion Revolutionary, Dies at 41
Virgil Abloh, artistic director of Louis Vuitton menswear collection and founder of the streetwear brand Off-White, died Sunday, Nov. 28. Courtesy of Sebastian Kim. Milo Hume Artist, designer, and DJ Virgil Abloh died in Chicago last Sunday after privately battling a rare cardiac cancer. The 41-year-old was diagnosed in 2019, though he remained at the helm of his popular streetwear brand Off-White and served as the artistic creative director of Louis Vuitton menswear until his passing, all while releasing multiple collaborations with brands like Nike and Ikea. Born out of the logo-crazed, internet-enthralled fashion of the early
2000s and inspired by his own extensive architectural education, the late designer’s work revolutionized streetwear. Since the launch of his first brand, Pyrex Vision, in 2012, Abloh spent his career crafting collections which emphasized the more formal, structural elements of design while also working to demystify the exclusivity of high-fashion culture and clothing. The absence of his youthful curiosity and penchant for humor is a gap that can never be replaced, and he has definitely set a standard for changemakers for years
to come. Born in 1980 to Ghanaian immigrant parents, Abloh studied engineering and architecture in college and graduate school, equipping him with his notoriously nontraditional approach to clothing design. It was around this time that he met Ye (formerly Kanye West) while working at a Chicago print shop. They interned together at the Rome office of Fendi in 2009, which marked the start of a long, collaborative friendship. In 2011, Abloh started his own gallery in Chicago. There, he served as
the artistic director for Jay-Z and Ye’s album Watch the Throne, and later founded Pyrex Vision. Here, Abloh’s design tendencies first started to take shape as he began printing Caravaggio paintings, the word Pyrex, and the number 23 — an homage to Michael Jordan, his childhood hero — onto deadstock Ralph Lauren hoodies he purchased for $40 each and selling them for $550 each. It was the start of streetwear being married to “high art,” hybridizing seemingly opposite worlds. See Artistic, page 13
Campus Music Venues Face Booking Obstacles During Pandemic Raghav Raj In contrast to the empty stages that defined so much of Oberlin’s live music scene during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, this fall semester has brought the tradition of live performances back to campus. Despite recent full-capacity concerts at beloved College venues like the Cat in the Cream and the ’Sco, the return of live music hasn’t been without obstacles. For the students who work at and promote these venues, the process of bringing musical acts to Oberlin has been riddled with hurdles. Especially given the uptick in COVID-19 cases on campus in recent weeks, strict adherence to the College’s ObieSafe policies is a challenge that promoters have had to work through while reaching out to artists and their management. One of those promoters is College third-year Tali Braun. Braun, who has been working at the ’Sco since June, describes her booking job as something that’s constantly changing in order to anticipate and respond to OberSee Going, page 12
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As live music returns to Oberlin venues with the relaxing of COVID-19 restrictions, bookers at both the ’Sco and the Cat in the Cream struggle to bring musicians willing to comply with the College’s COVID-19 protocols. Courtesy of Khadijah Halliday
