Honoring Those We’ve Lost: Fashion Pioneers
Although these three fashion legends’ lives ended too soon, they still found a way to leave their mark on the industry. Even people not invested in fashion knew how important Virgil Abloh, Andre Leon Talley, and Manfred Thierry Mugler were. Each of them was not afraid to push boundaries in order to express their creativity to the world. Their work has and will continue to inspire the next wave of designers, creative directors, and editors to be themselves in order to leave a worthwhile legacy.
Virgil Abloh (September 30, 1980-November 28, 2021)
Virgil Abloh was a Chicago native who has completely shaped streetwear and opened the door for people like him to lead in high fashion. In 2002 he received his Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, followed by completion of his Master's degree in Architecture in 2006 from the Illinois Institute of Technology. Abloh says during his time at IIT, a Rem Koolhaus building “piqued my interest and opened my gateway into fashion.” His mother also introduced him to sewing when he was younger. His first fashion experience began with him making shirts and writing fashion blogs for The Brilliance.
Abloh met Kanye West at a pop-up shop, and they worked in the same Fendi internship class together in 2009 where their relationship began to grow. His experience traveling and collaborating with West helped Abloh launch his first clothing line, Pyrex Vision, in 2012. His brand inspired the finessing nature of fashion by turning 40-dollar dead-stock Ralph Lauren flannels into a 550 dollar product with the word “PYREX” and the number “23”, for Michael Jordan, on the back.
Abloh’s next endeavor was with the creation of Off-White. The first collection was revealed in 2015 showcasing the influential blend of luxury fashion and streetwear. A couple of years later, Abloh collaborated with Nike for a sneaker collection “The Ten” where he added Off-White designs to 10 popular Nike sneakers; the shoes sold out quickly and are still hard to find. This put Abloh’s brand in conversations with luxury brands such as Gucci, Supreme, Bape, and more.
On March 25, 2018, Virgil Abloh became the first African American to be the head of creative direction for Louis Vuitton’s menswear. He was also one of the few black designers associated with the luxury brand. He showed his first collection at Men’s Fashion Week in Paris with many celebrities as his models. The demand for his work increased presenting him with opportunities with IKEA, Serena Williams, and Hailey Bieber to name a few.
Another great accomplishment was the installment of his art exhibit, Figures of Speech, at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago in 2018. Here, he was able to combine all of his artistic backgrounds into multiple well-known pieces from the “You’re obviously in the wrong place” to his display of dozens of Off-White Jordans. 2018 was such a big year for him that Time magazine listed him as one of the top 100 most influential people in the world. Abloh’s legacy will only bring more opportunities for people like him in the fashion industry.
"We’re designers, so we can start a trend, we can highlight issues, we can make a lot of people focus on something or we can cause a lot of people to focus on ourselves," Abloh said. "I’m not interested in (the latter). I’m interested in using my platform as one of a very small group of African-American males to design a house, to sort of show people in a poetic way.”
His eighth and final Louis Vuitton show was held a few days after his death in Miami to reveal his Summer 2022 collection. Virgil Abloh was diagnosed with cardiac angiosarcoma in 2019 and passed away from the disease in Chicago. He is survived by his wife Shannon Sunberg, children Lowe and Grey, parents Nee and Eunice, and sister Edwina.
Andre Leon Talley (October 16, 1948- January 18, 2022)
The iconic fashion magazine Vogue and the entire fashion industry wouldn’t be what it is now without Andre Leon Talley’s existence.
Talley was born in Washington, D.C., and raised by his grandmother Binnie Francis Davis in Durham, NC. he always loved fashion and put his dreams into fruition when the opportunities resented themselves. In 1970, he received a bachelor’s degree in French literature from North Carolina Central University, a historically black university, and a master’s degree in the same major from Brown University. This led him to become an apprentice for Diana Vreeland at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Doors continued opening for him allowing him to work at Interview Magazine, Women’s Wear Daily, W, and even The New York Times before becoming Vogue’s fashion news director in 1983. It wasn’t until 1988 when Talley was named the magazine’s creative director; he was the first African American man to hold this position. Then from 1995 to 2013, he was Vogue’s editor-at-large.
Throughout his bountiful career, Talley emphasized the importance of equity and inclusion in the fashion industry, especially for people like him. His list of accomplishments and contributions is infinite but Talley always made sure people of color and LGBTQ+ faces and voices were seen and heard respectively. The 6 and a half foot tall iconic was frequently seen in the front row of fashion shows, oftentimes being the only African American. If Talley left the world with anything, it was this message.
“My story is a fairytale off excess, and in every fairytale, there is evil and darkness, but you overcome it with light. I want every person I come across – the stranger on the street, the church member in the pew next to me – to feel love. I have not been privy to love in my life, but I want them to feel that they have received some love from engaging with me, André Leon Talley.”
Talley passed away in White Plains, NY due to a heart attack from COVID-19 complications.
Thierry Mugler (December 21, 1948-January 23, 2022)
The one-of-a-kind Manfred Thierry Mugler was a fashion designer and perfumer from Strasbourg, France. Since he could remember, Mugler always loved the arts, fashion, and dance; this led him to study interior design at the Strasbourg School of Decorative Art. At 24, he moved to Paris to work as a freelance designer before launching his eponymous brand in the mid-1970s. Fashion editor Melka Tréanton, encouraged him to exhibit his first collection, Cafe de Paris, at a Tokyo event hosted by Shiseido. Later he expanded his brand to not only include women’s clothes but also men’s.
Mugler was and is still known for his metallic, broad-shouldered corset designs which he always finds another way to take to the next level. He first gained the public’s attention after showing his designs at his first boutique in Place des Victories in 1978. Mugler established a name for himself in the 1980s as an international designer able to transform 1940s glam into one of the most iconic looks of the 1980s. Over the course of his 50-year career, his looks became more and more recognizable. Mugler glamorized the snatched waisted and outstanding breasts and hips look years before it was popularized in today’s culture.
Throughout his illustrious career, Mugler worked with visionaries such as Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, David Bowie, and many more. He also contributed to the rise of supermodels; Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Tyra Banks, Linda Evangelista, and Eva Herzigova are just a handful of icons to wear some of Mugler’s best work What made Mugler a game-changer was his inclusivity within his models. He was one of the first designers to have models that were transgender, drag queens, or pornstars.
Mugler made sure to leave his mark in more places besides the runway. He published his first photography book in 1988 titled Thierry Mugler: Photographer followed by a monograph in 1999 titled Fashion Fetish Fantasy. Both works of art capture his creations thus far. He even dabbled in directing by collaborating with George Michael for his “Too Funky” music video in 1992 and created the advertising film for his fragrance, Alien. That same year he helped direct Michael’s video, he released his most popular fragrance, Angel, adding on to his list of skills and accomplishments. Mugler continued designing for musicals, operas, and other theatrical arts through the end of the century.
Cosmetic company Clarins became the main shareholder of the house in 1997 but couldn’t maintain business which sent him underground. In 2001, Mugler revealed his last collection and retired from fashion shortly after. He continued helping other stars when needed so he was only in retirement until Beyoncé asked him to be her artistic advisor for her “I Am… World Tour” in 2009. He continued to design under his name “House of Mugler” to help contribute to a Met Gala design for Kim Kardashian and a Grammy red carpet look for Cardi B.
Mugler died of natural causes in his home in Vincennes, Paris.
Edited by Kieryn Alexander
