Shannon Abloh to Become CEO of Virgil Abloh Securities as She Seeks to Continue Late Husband’s Legacy
Shannon Abloh is taking on a new role as she seeks to continue her late husband Virgil Abloh’s legacy and creative initiatives around the world.
She will now serve as the CEO and managing director of Virgil Abloh Securities, a Virgil Abloh-founded creative corporation. Shannon Abloh will now lead the company and will be launching “a plethora of exciting initiatives and endeavors over the coming years, all of which Virgil Abloh laid the foundation,” the company’s chief operating officer Athiththan A. Selvendran said in a statement on Tuesday.
Selvendran also stated that the Virgil Abloh Securities portfolio will continue to consist of work in the disciplines and spheres of art, architecture, engineering, creative direction, artistic direction, industrial design, fashion design, music, film, writing, and philanthropy.
What’s more, Selvendran said the company will also launch a new philanthropic institution, which will “continue Virgil Abloh’s philosophy and teachings to create pathways for greater equity and inclusion for diverse talents across creative industries.”
“Virgil Abloh Securities continues to hold Virgil’s teachings and creative insight in the highest regard,” Selvendran added. “The team at Virgil Abloh Securities consists of Virgil’s longstanding creative collaborators, and every project that moves forward will be entirely created with Virgil Abloh’s methodology. We are open to new projects, so please reach out with any opportunities that would be of interest.”
A formal statement from Shannon Abloh is expected to be released this summer where she will lay out her plans for the future of Virgil Abloh Securities.
Virgil Abloh, who was 41, died on Nov. 28 after a two year battle with cancer. He was the artistic director of Louis Vuitton’s menswear collections since 2018, and had led his own streetwear brand Off-White since 2012.
In 2017, Abloh was awarded the Shoe of the Year at the 2017 Footwear News Achievement Awards for the Air Jordan 1 from his “The Ten” collection. In his acceptance speech, he said that his Nike “The Ten” lineup would not have been possible without his “intern spirit,” an ambitious and driven mindset that helped push him to accomplish new things. It helped that throughout the process, Nike was game for almost anything, he said.