It may have been just as iconic as the Spring 2018 Versace show but there was a distinctly somber mood as the likes of Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Amber Valletta and Helena Christensen returned to runway for the Off-White Fall 2022 runway overnight. To pay tribute to the late designer Virgil Abloh who passed away from cancer late last year, a myriad of supers and fashion greats gathered at the opening night of Paris Fashion Week for his last ever collection.
Titled Spaceship Earth: an Imaginary Experience, the collection was an ingenious cocktail of voluminous ball gowns, tailoring and sportswear. Campbell lead her fellow ’90s colleagues alongside Gigi Hadid, Bella Hadid, Kaia Gerber, Kendall Jenner and Sudanese-Australian export, Adut Akech. Serena Williams, Joan Smalls, Karlie Kloss, and Candice Swanepoel also walked the runway. A very pregnant Rihanna an A$AP Rocky was photographed attending the show.
Abloh also served as the artistic director of Louis Vuitton Menswear with his final collection for the fashion house unveiled in November. The late designer died just days before the presentation. He had been privately battling agressive cancer.
“For over two years, Virgil valiantly battled a rare, aggressive form of cancer, cardiac angiosarcoma,” a statement on social media read at the time of his passing. “He chose to endure his battle privately since his diagnosis in 2019, undergoing numerous challenging treatments, all while helming several significant institutions that span fashion, art, and culture.”
According to the Business of Fashion, it is currently not known who will be made the creative succession of both Louis Vuitton and Off-White. As far as the LVMH-owned Off-White is concerned, executives of the company have discussed an idea of a design “collective”. By all accounts there is no rush to replace Abloh until the next menswear collection, which is due to be unveiled in June of this year.
