Brilliant and authentic minds fascinate me. They always did. The fashion industry needs more authentic and visionary minds that are not afraid of putting their thoughts and creativity into the world. The authentic minds who think out of the box are the ones who make it in this industry and make it first. They come around, build an empire and leave a legacy to be followed, just like Virgil Abloh did.
This weekend we lost a brilliant mind. Sadly, we lost Virgil Abloh so young. He and Chiara Ferragni are two of my biggest inspirations. Their authenticity is what fascinates me and that is how I am trying to build my brand and business. Virgil was born in Chicago and was the first African-American to be the art director of a French Luxury brand. A black immigrant in one of the most demanding fashion scenes in the world. Quickly his name and work went viral, so Off White (the label he founded) became one of everybody’s favorites.
I remember back at the beginning of 2018 before I got into product development and production management, I was working with one of my former bosses, who was a buyer for NYC boutique stores, and I introduced him to Off White. His first comment “this black guy founded Off White and he is making it on the French Fashion scene? This does not look super coherent” pretty messed up comment right? This was the day that Virgil became one of my biggest inspirations. None only because of his work, but also because of his history that I can relate to on so many levels.
At 41 years old he changed the French fashion scene and inspired so many young immigrants who are trying to make it in this industry. He was authentic and proved his point so many times that we got most of the sports labels trying to collaborate with him - Nike being the coolest collab, in my opinion. He even collaborated with a weed company and got his own Off White weed pack. I am not a weed smoker at all, but this is one of the things that makes me even more fascinated about him and his journey - the authenticity of everything he did.
You might come up with a new brand for babies, a new line for high-end dresses, or you might come up with a basic line of t-shirts. Yes, you can become successful and turn your business into a multimillion-dollar company, but the brands that actually make it in this industry were started by visionary and authentic minds that stick to their beliefs, goals and are not afraid of putting their creativity out there. Chiara Ferragni is another example of that. She is so authentic, that she is not afraid of posting pictures in lingerie for her 30 million followers even though she knows haters will be all over her saying that she is a mom of two and should not post pictures like that - which we all know is stupid…
The fashion industry is no joke. As I said, visionary minds are the ones that make it in this industry and make it first. Virgil sadly left us at 41 years old and left an empire behind. Chiara is 34 years old and has already become one of the most influential women in the world. Now, these are the people to look up to. Not only in life, but in business. Especially in the fashion industry, where competition is insane and there are so many traditional brands, like Chanel or Fendi, that have been in the industry since forever and will always be people’s first option when looking for traditional high-end couture.
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