UW Grad Becomes First Black Artistic Director for Louis Vuitton

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    University of Wisconsin-Madison alumnus, Virgil Abloh, has become the first African American artistic director for Louis Vuitton.

    The announcement came Monday making Abloh one of only two people of color to lead a major fashion label.

    Abloh graduated from UW-Madison in 2003 with a degree in civil engineering. He went on to become the creative director for Kanye West and start his own label, Off-White.

    One of the special Homecoming shorts designed by Virgil Abloh in 2015

    In 2015 he was commissioned by the university to create a limited edition homecoming t-shirt with the proceeds going towards a scholarship fund.

    “I feel elated,” Abdol told the New York Times. “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 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.”

    Abloh’s first show Louis Vuitton take place during Men’s Fashion Week in June.