Alessi to Unveil Virgil Abloh Project During Milan Design Week
ALESSI’S PROJECT: Alessi, which is marking its 100th anniversary this year, has worked with around 300 designers and architects throughout its history, from Alessandro Mendini and Ettore Sottsass to Philippe Starck and Marcel Wanders, to name a few. Now during Milan Design Week, running Monday to June 12, the Italian company will unveil a new project, whose details are being kept under wraps, conceived with the late Virgil Abloh.
The 41-year-old Abloh, founder of Off-White and men’s creative director at Louis Vuitton, died in November in Chicago, and his impact on the fashion industry as well as the pop culture and art worlds continues to reverberate globally.
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Abloh graduated with a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and received his master of architecture degree at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Though he was a trained architect, his career has deeper roots in the skate, music, streetwear and blog scenes.
The prolific designer and his Off-White brand scored countless collaborations with Levi’s on the company’s Made & Crafted line; with Nike first on their “The Ten” series that included reinterpretations of 10 of the sportswear company’s sneakers, and with Ikea on furniture for a collection called Markerad that featured products like bags, clocks and mats with words like “Sculpture,” “Temporary” and “Keep Off.” Other collaborations included Jimmy Choo, Moncler, Tsum, Byredo, Babylon LA, Ginori, Vilebrequin, Champion, Timberland, Dr. Martens and Umbro, among others.
He teamed with retailers Ssense on athletic apparel; Sunglass Hut on a sunglasses collection; an exclusive capsule for Browns, and Le Bon Marché on a café. Outside of fashion, he worked with Evian on water bottles under his name for the company’s Soma collection; with Mercedes-Benz on Project Geländewagen for the G-Class automobile, and with artist Takashi Murakami on artwork.
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