WASHINGTON: After battling cancer for several years, star fashion designer Virgil Abloh passed away at the age of 41.
Virgil, who died on Sunday, was the founder of the fashion company Off-White and menswear artistic director at Louis Vuitton.
His demise was confirmed by his labels on social media, Variety reported.
"We are all shocked after this terrible news. Virgil was not only a genius designer, a visionary, he was also a man with a beautiful soul and great wisdom," LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault wrote on Instagram.
"The LVMH family joins me in this moment of great sorrow, and we are all thinking of his loved ones after the passing of their husband, their father, their brother or their friend," he added.
According to the statement, Virgil opted to keep his cancer private after being diagnosed in 2019, undergoing treatments while continuing to work as one of the fashion industry's leading voices.