The Artistic Director of Louis Vuitton, Virgil Abloh, has died.

The Ghanaian-American, who founded the Off-White fashion brand, died on Sunday, 28 November 2021 after battling cancer privately for years.

LVMH, Louis Vuitton and Off-White announced his death.

LVMH Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Bernard Arnault, said: “We are all shocked after this terrible news”.

“Virgil was not only a genius designer, a visionary, he was also a man with a beautiful soul and great wisdom”, the statement said.

“The LVMH family joins me in this moment of great sorrow, and we are all thinking of his loved ones after the passing of their husband, their father, their brother or their friend.”

The fashion icon was born to Ghanaian immigrant parents on September 30, 1980, in Rockford, Illinois.

His father managed a paint company.

His mother was a seamstress.

Virgil was an architect, artist, creative director, designer and engineer.

The designer’s brand, Off-White c/o Virgil Abloh™️ was started in 2012 as an artwork titled “PYREX VISION.”

The brand, in 2013, premiered a seasonal men’s and women’s fashion label showing runway collections during Paris Fashion Week since 2015.

He has been awarded various prizes throughout his outstanding career, most recently winning the British Fashion Awards ‘Urban Luxe’ award.

He also won the International Designer of the Year at the GQ Men of the Year Awards in 2017.