In late November, the world lost a fashion icon in designer Virgil Abloh as he succumbed to cancer after privately battling it for years. He was first known for establishing his own fashion house named Off-White back in 2013. With the success of the brand, Virgil Abloh was able to set up multiple concept stores in various countries which eventually led to successful collaborations with well-known fashion labels.

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The Chicago native was also known for serving as the artistic director for luxury brand Louis Vuitton from 2018 to 2021. Being a known figure in the fashion industry, his influence transcended into art and music as he also made collaborations with artist Takashi Murakami and rapper Pop Smoke, respectively. However, for a known sneakerhead and co-owner of Off The Bench in Qias Omar, he remembered Virgil Abloh the most for his impact in the sneaker industry, especially with his recent collaboration with Jordan Brand.

“Virgil is someone who’s definitely in the culture for fashion in general, he’s made a huge impact with sneakers you know. I would say for me personally I knew about Virgil, but really became a fan of him when he started to do the Jordan collaborations.”

The iconic partnership immediately caught the eyes of many as everyone wanted to get their hands on it when the collaboration was first launched back in 2018. The Off-White Jordan 1s, 4s, and 5s quickly became must-cops for avid sneakerheads everywhere. Three years after its release, Jordan Brand's collaboration with Off-White has emerged to be one of the highly coveted sneaker grails as its prices continue to skyrocket by the day.

“I feel like he’s left his mark and he’s just someone that’s gonna be remembered like when you think of sneakers you think of Virgil and all that he did. Yeah he’s gonna be a staple in the sneaker community,” said Omar in an interview.

Without a doubt, the Jordan Brand is iconic on its own but its collaboration with Off-White certainly has made the brand more lucrative than it already is. Ultimately, the success of the collaboration greatly benefited both labels as they have massively popularized since then. Indeed, it eventually ended up being one of the most successful collaborations that Virgil Abloh has made throughout his career.

More than the revenue generated, it was his influence and creative artistic sense that eventually made him a revered icon in the industry until his untimely death. Like Qias Omar, many people around the world, especially avid fans of the fashion and sneaker industry, will always remember how the late designer was able to make a lasting impact through the iconic works that he made for the community.