Virgil Abloh Talks About Streetwear Trend in an Interview

You’ll be surprised what he thinks about streetwear

Virgil Abloh has helped define the streetwear trend of the last decade. As Off-White’s founder, a brand renowned for luxury logo t-shirts and sneakers, he is often credited with convincing the world of luxury apparel that streetwear should be taken seriously as both a style and a culture.

 

After  a three-month medical leave from his posts at both Off-White and Louis Vuitton, where he currently serves as men’s artistic director, Abloh stated in an interview that “As a designer, you get confronted with the term of your generation which you have no control over,” He also added,  “From that frustration I decided if ‘streetwear’ was gonna be the sign of the times I was gonna define it rather than be defined by it,” and continued the statement with, “I needed to do a show to define what ‘streetwear’ could be, and do it with urgency.”

 

For the last ten years, Virgil Abloh’s goal was to design for his generation and the next. He was quite fascinated with elevating wardrobe basics like T-shirts, hoodies, and sneakers. He gained popularity when he screen-printed the name of his collective, “Pyrex Vision,” on Ralph Lauren flannels in 2012. But as we close the 2010s, it’s quite obvious that Abloh wants to keep pushing himself and his customers forward. If he didn’t think this way, he wouldn’t be a successful designer.

In the interview, when he was asked what  he thinks to the “idea of streetwear in the 2020s,” Abloh responded with this: “Wow. I would definitely say it’s gonna die,” he said. “Like, its time will be up. In my mind, how many more T-shirts can we own, how many more hoodies, how many sneakers?”

 

Strong words from the streetwear icon! But Virgil Abloh has always been aware of the latest things that are happening and what has to come in the world of fashion. And the future of fashion has actually already happened according to him. “I think that like we’re gonna hit this like, really awesome state of expressing your knowledge and personal style with vintage,” he explained. “There are so many clothes that are cool that are in vintage shops and it’s just about wearing them. I think that fashion is gonna go away from buying a boxfresh something; it’ll be like, hey I’m gonna go into my archive.”

The idea that we’re headed for a “post-sneaker world” might not be accepted by sneakerheads. But the good news for the streetwear trend is that it might soon be considered vintage, as well.