From the very beginning of his career, Virgil Abloh was about positioning a new era of fashion designers to be heralded as rock stars. He wrote as much in an original piece he penned for the “The Brilliance” blog in 2007, and if he had been able to jump into a time machine back then to travel to right now, then I think he’d be incredibly proud to discover he managed to accomplish just that. He not only re-defined the idea of modern fashion designer but in 2018 he has appointed the head of menswear design at Louis Vuitton, making him the first black designer ever to earn the opportunity. At the age of only 41, Virgil had somehow managed to accomplish more than most of us can ever hope to do in an entire lifetime -- but then, in November of 2021, he passed away after a private battle with a very aggressive form of cancer. So, in honor of his life, we’re going to take a look back at some of his most remarkable accomplishments and fill you in on the unbelievable but true story of the modern era’s most influential designer.