10 Virgil Abloh Fans Share Their Hopes for His Louis Vuitton Debut

It was a scorching 90 degrees in New York on Monday, but even hellish temperatures couldn’t keep Virgil Abloh's fans from Soho. At his Off-White store on Mercer Street, crowds had amassed within police barricades for the opportunity to shop a new sneaker, a safety orange style made in collaboration with Nike. Lucky raffle winners were being escorted inside, one by one, by a staff member, while unsuspecting passerby started to join the line just to get a piece of the action.

One boy, about 13 years old and surrounded by his family on vacation, tugged at his mother, “Mom, that’s Off-White!” An older guy in his corporate uniform of blue button down and black dress pants wiped a bead of sweat off his brow with a kerchief. A father held his young son on his shoulders. More than I can count just stood and gawked and took photos on their iPhones, hoping to capture a bit of Abloh's magic on their own.

For two hours, the photographer Alex Hodor-Lee and I stood on the very sweaty streets of Soho and found every type of person willing to talk about Abloh, from a Nike store employee to a superfan to a couple that came all the way from France to scope out the store.

Here, 10 of our favorite fans share what they’re hoping for from Abloh’s Louis Vuitton debut tomorrow.

Shawn Freeney, New York

What do you like about Virgil’s work?

It’s a little bit more on a sentimental level, you know? I look at Virgil as an inspiration. Honestly, him being a black designer and being at the forefront of what’s popular right now, him somewhat controlling the culture is inspiring for a young man like myself who’s working in the fashion industry now. It’s just something I want to continuously support any time I get the chance. It’s deeper than just the design, it’s changing the history for designers, period. It’s always great to be able to support another likeminded individual who you want to model yourself after.

Do you follow all of his projects, between the collaborations and runway shows?

For the most part. Right now I’m liking what he’s doing with Takashi Murakami. All the installations have been very dope. Like I said, when you got somebody like that, it’s deeper. Watching his history grow with Kanye—I’ve been a follower for a while and just being in tune with him, it’s awesome to see the growth.

Is there something you hope Virgil brings to Louis Vuitton?

Honestly, he’s doing enough, him being there. I think it’s been cool seeing him integrate with streetwear a bit more, having us more in the forefront because I feel like the hip-hop culture is really what’s cool, for the most part. I’m just looking forward to him doing him. I’m a supporter of him so, whatever he does that’s natural and organic, I’ll be there to support it, for sure.

Do you see yourself buying his Louis Vuitton stuff?

Yes, for sure. Like I said, there’s no other way to empower other black designers if we’re not out there actually supporting them, not just getting up there and talking about it. Put your money where your mouth is, pretty much.

Kyle Wartenberg and Talia Carbone, California

What do you like about Virgil? Why are you into his work?

Talia: I like it because it really combines streetwear with high-end fashion. All of his collections are simple, but they’re still a statement piece. That’s why I really like him.

Kyle: Yeah. It’s different. It’s a brand that not everybody knows about, and it’s comparable with Louis Vuitton in that you can wear it to nice restaurants and a lot of places and those that know about it will consider it as if they would a Louis Vuitton item.

How many Off-White pieces do you have?

Kyle: I think 15 items now, between hats, belts, pants, shorts, shoes, socks, shirts, tops—everything.

And you’ve visited a lot of his stores?

Kyle: Yeah.

Talia: The one in Singapore, we went to. It was really cool. I like how each store has a different design to it and a different atmosphere. I think he’s really creative, especially with the quotation marks. It’s such a simple thing to put on clothes, but at the same time everyone knows the boots that say “For Walking.” Stuff like that is super cool.

What do you hope he brings to Louis Vuitton?

Kyle: Definitely a collaboration between Off-White and Louis Vuitton.

Talia: Definitely some of the Louis Vuitton monogram pieces, but with that modern twist on it that combines the classiness of Louis Vuitton and the informality of his clothing brand.

Kyle: Similar to what the Louis Vuitton/Supreme collab did. It was the biggest collab there was and the resell was just insanely high, but everyone wanted it. I’m just hoping to see something like that.

And you’ll definitely be shopping LV.

Kyle: Oh, yeah.

Talia: Oh, yeah.

Tysheim Campbell, New York

Tell me a little bit about what you like about Virgil and Off-White.

I just feel like he’s very creative with a lot of different brands and designers that I feel like a lot of urban people connect with. That’s first and foremost. The Off-White collection is pretty unique to me because I look at it as where it first started. I was a part of the whole Pyrex vision, so to actually come here and buy something from the Off-White brand is a plus.

Do you follow Virgil’s work across all his collabs?

Yeah, I’ve been following his work even before the collections and the clothes and the sneakers. Just being in the culture as far as fashion and music, I was already accustomed to hearing his name floating around, so to be able to attach these great things with him is pretty good.

What do you think of him being the artistic director of Louis Vuitton men’s?

Oh I think that’s big. Being a black male in this industry, sometimes it’s tough. But he’s been able to break a few barriers and work with a lot of different people that give me the opportunity to look at things different and say, ‘You know what? I probably can actually network and talk to people like you.’ So here is a big connection [made] through clothes. It sounds that simple and that easy but it’s actually something pretty positive and there’s more to it.

Is there something you hope Virgil brings to Vuitton?

Just be the same person. People tend to want to keep up or tend to change; I would say just be the same, continue to do what you’ve been doing, and I think you’ll be great at it.

Brennan Wong, New York

What do you like about Virgil’s work?

I like how it’s different than regular designer stuff.

Do you shop at Off-White a lot?

Once in a while, not that much.

Is there something you want to see Virgil bring to LV?

Probably more of their bags looking more like his artwork.

Keith Elam, New York

Tell me what you like about Virgil’s work.

Probably just the whole streetwear aspect, combining high fashion and streetwear. Definitely my favorite thing about Virgil is just the silhouettes, like the shoe, the Jordan 1s, are probably one of my favorite shoes right now.

How long have you been following his career?

A while! Since probably like 2008, when he was with Kanye. You know that picture where it’s like Virgil, Kanye, Don C, Taz Arnold, they’re all outside? I’ve been inspired by them, fashion-wise, ever since then.

I see you’ve got the Vuitton cross-body. Are you excited for Virgil’s debut there?

Definitely. You know what I was talking about before about streetwear? I’m definitely very excited to see how the ready-to-wear collection is. Probably some streetwear vibes coming from there.

Do you think you’ll be buying a lot of what Virgil will make at Louis Vuitton?

For sure. I’m looking at the bags, I need new bags, so we’ll see.

Lucas Holstaine and Manon Gerard, France

What do you like about Virgil’s work?

Lucas: I like the fact that he brings some new things to the fashion world. He’s doing temporary shops and pop-up stores across the world. I think it’s cool to bring some new ideas in the fashion world where we cannot find a lot of different ideas.

Do you shop at Off-White a lot?

Lucas: Not a lot because there is a high price, but when I can, especially on sale. When I have the occasion I shop.

What do you hope Virgil brings to Vuitton?

Lucas: I hope that he will start doing a lot of ready-to-wear things and high fashion and bring back some suits and stop what Kim Jones was doing before.

Justin Rollins, New York

What do you like about Virgil’s work?

Virgil’s work is different. He’s taking pieces from Louis Vuitton, from Ikea, from Nike, and he’s changing how they look and he’s making it more artistic and he’s giving it to the people.

Is there something you hope he brings to Louis Vuitton?

Some dope menswear.

Ben Oukosavanna, New York

Why do you think Virgil is so popular?

I think he’s popular because of the hype that’s behind him.

What do you think of him being named the artistic director of Louis Vuitton’s menswear?

To see him take part in it, I think that’s pretty cool. I think it’s cool that Louis Vuitton does that, works with other designers and other brands to give their take on it.

Is there something you hope Virgil brings to Louis Vuitton?

Whenever these designers do these projects, I want them to bring their vision to it. I want to see changes in all those [luxury] brands, and I do feel that as of late, these brands are looking for change, which is good. I’m happy for that.

These interviews have been edited and condensed.