April 15, 2022
Virgil Abloh at the end of his Off-White men’s show in 2018.Charles Platiau/Reuters
Fashion Director and Chief Fashion Critic
Hello, Open Thread. Happy Passover. And Good Friday.
So much going on.
In the spirit of doing good, I wanted to pass on a message that has stayed with me all week, ever since I attended the Fashion Scholarship Fund’s annual gala on Monday.
The F.S.F., for those who don’t know, is a nonprofit created to encourage students to enter the fashion industry. So far it has given away more than $11 million in scholarships. This year its marquee event was held in honor of Virgil Abloh, the pioneering designer who died in November, and who had teamed up with F.S.F. in 2020 to create the Post-Modern Scholarship Fund to support young designers of color.
Mr. Abloh’s widow, Shannon Abloh, who remained largely behind the scenes during her husband’s life (though their partnership began when they were 17), made a speech at the event about how Mr. Abloh saw his role.
“Virgil was of course deeply honored to become the first African American to lead a European fashion house,” she said, referring to his role as creative director of Louis Vuitton men’s wear, “but he believed his real work was using his position to ensure that many more Black designers, creatives and executives could have access to the opportunities he had in the fashion industry. He believed his real work was championing others, helping them find opportunities and rooting for their success.” That meant giving them his time and share of mind.
One of those young designers was Naecia Dixon, the winner of the $25,000 Chairman’s Award. A student at the Savannah College of Art and Design, Ms. Dixon was born in America but raised in Jamaica, and was one of the scholarship recipients. She was inspired to get into fashion, she said, by seeing the piles of discarded clothes shipped from Goodwill to the markets in her country and believing they needed to be reconceived.
“I want a little Black Jamaican girl to see me how I saw Virgil,” she said. “That I am not a saint or a superhero or a goddess.”
“That I am just a Black woman,” she said, who worked really hard. “And if I can do it, she can do it, too.”
In an industry often depicted as back-stabbing and self-centered, Mr. Abloh was, and Ms. Dixon is, a role model of a different kind.
To read about more unusual fashion, go with Jessica Testa into the world of LoveShackFancy, discover why men are gravitating to lingerie, and listen to Thebe Magugu describe his stint as the guest designer of AZ Factory.
Finally, thank you to everyone who wrote in about leggings. I got so many notes after last week’s Q. and A., it was clear a Part 2 was necessary, the better to address all the men who pointed out that I did not consider their side of the issue. See rectification below.
And have a good, safe weekend. Whatever you are celebrating.