When looking at high-end fashion, there is a list of recognizable designers, but none have quite the recognition that Virgil Abloh had. He is as highly praised as he is loved in the culture of fashion and streetwear, and many were devastated to find out that he had passed away while privately battling cardiac angiosarcoma, a form of heart cancer, on Nov. 28, 2021. Virgil left a massive impression within the industry of fashion and streetwear by creating his own unique style that was presented in his coveted products that he and other companies co-released.
Abloh was the founder of Off-White and the creative director behind Louis-Vuitton, which are both coveted names within the fashion industry. Before becoming a household name known throughout the fashion world, Abloh was the creator of his own fashion company named Pyrex. Though these were the early beginnings of a savvy designer, Abloh eventually created Off-White, which launched him to fame.
Under it’s growing name at the time, Off-White continued to gain traction for itself within the industry. It grew so much that Abloh, along with his new IP, collaborated with Nike to release a set of sneakers called ‘The Ten’. These sneakers are ten different, but iconic, silhouettes of Nike shoes, ranging from Jordan 1, Air Maxes, Blazers, and other streetwear shoes that involved a unique design of partial deconstruction, with added design alterations to the patterns on the shoes silhouette.
After release, ‘The Ten’ catapulted Off-White, as well as it’s creative founder, Abloh, into fashion stardom. The shoes were not only highly sought-after, but they also solidified the style that Abloh became known for. The collaboration paved the way for Abloh’s success in streetwear and fashion, so that other companies like Ikea and Louis Vuitton collaborated with the designer, eventually leading to Virgil taking over as Louis Vuitton’s creative director.
The recognition Virgil attained in the world of fashion in such a short time, makes him a well known face in the industry. He had been battling cancer since 2019, yet he continued to put out releases for companies. His work ethic alone helped solidify his name as an icon.
“He had an unquestionably enormous impact in the fashion world, and without
Virgil, streetwear wouldn’t be anywhere near to where it is now,” stated Kristof Zador, a head designer of the European based streetwear brand earthT1 on Instagram. Zador elaborates further on what made Abloh different compared to the other designers in the industry, citing how he thought outside of the box.
Kristof states, “[Abloh] also introduced this whole magical world to the youth, and I personally couldn’t name anyone from the near past who single-handedly transformed the whole world of fashion. Virgil did exactly that.”
Although Abloh was battling cancer, he kept his health a secret, so when he passed, it took his friends and fans by complete surprise. Prices and demand for any products Virgil released during his time alive, whether it was streetwear, shoes or miscellaneous items, skyrocketed in the aftermarket websites by resellers.
According to one aftermarket website, StockX, one of the most coveted sneakers he arguably ever released, the Off-White Chicago Air Jordan 1, originally sold for $4,000-$5,000, but recently rose to the $9,000 range just a few hours after his death was announced.
It didn’t stop there. A whole slew of products that had any sort of connection to his name or brand shot up nearly 5x that of its original retail price after its initial release, while resell prices have shot up to double or even triple that of their aftermarket prices.
This blatant price gouge by scalpers has led to many reacting in either disgust or in disappointment. Dylan Korte, who was one of the many consumers that’s not only unhappy with the recent price jump in the aftermarket, but also desires to own one of Abloh’s sought-after shoes he released with Nike, acknowledges how Abloh created many sneakers but states, “Some will be very unattainable and others will be more attainable. Which is unfair, as all of his shoes should be priced at a reasonable markup in the aftermarket.”
Korte comments regarding this sudden surge in aftermarket price by simply stating, “it’s the nature of the beast. It happens in every industry.” This comment is similar to how Zador explains this display of capitalism within his interview, stating “it is business and money we are talking about, but for me it still can’t be more important than respect and morals. People are different, and their values are different, that’s for sure.”
To many, it is appalling how someone’s first thought when seeing an important figure unexpectedly pass away is to immediately price a product associated with that figure two or triple times what they bought it for. It’s immoral and taking advantage of someone’s death for profit.
Though, there are some Instagram resellers out there like sactownsneakers, sneakerresellx, rangerskickoff, and others showing their respect by pausing any sale of anything associated with Off-White when news broke of Abloh’s death. That’s the right thing to do.
It’s surprising that aftermarket sites like eBay, Stockx, and Goat, allow sales of such a product to even go through, and that they are not taking any temporary action. Morally, it would be in their best interest to at least temporarily suspend this type of price gouging to occur, even if it’s just for a few days.
As negative as the handling of Abloh’s death looks to the culture of reselling and scalping, it does make you think about how big of an impact he will leave within fashion and streetwear culture. Zador tells it best, stating, “If we look at creations in 10 years, and we still see demand for them, then his impact and importance will be truly undeniable, even for those who don’t recognize it yet.”
