Fashion, within a matter of three months, lost two of its brightest icons, one was was bringing us into the future and the other paved the way so Blacks would have a future in fashion. Virgil Abloh and Andre Leon Talley were two iconic, inspiring figures in fashion and for our Black culture, two people we could always look to and see ourselves and hope for more of us to reach their heights. There are very few articles or stories that I have written which literally made me sick to my stomach; this is definitely one of them…due to the fact of actually feeling like a piece of our Black identity in fashion is now gone. As I pen these words, I am literally hurting having to speak about two legends, I had the pleasure of meeting and conversing with, whom always made me say, ‘Keep on showing them our greatness!’. There are a million articles where you can read about both gentlemen, I will just say both combined, represented our past, present and future in regards to the depths of creativity and heights we can reach within fashion and culture overall. To Virgil and Andre, sleep well Kings, we know heaven just became extremely more fashionable and stylish with you both in it. To say you will be missed is an understatement, to say we will forever carry your mantle and make sure the world never forgets your contributions is the truth.
Farewell my fashion Kings,
Sincerely,
Chris Collie
Virgil Abloh (1980 – 2021)
Andre Leon Talley (1948 -2022)
