Collaborative Interview to Virgil Abloh made by the contributors of  TUNICA issue no. 7

Groupe CCC ( Graphic Design Studio / France )

GCCC  Virgil, it seems like you may have reached the very VIP club of new pop stars which Elon Musc is part of as well as Oprah Gail Winfreyon fyi  — the new pop stars shifting to creative or mediatic entrepreneurs worldwide famous where public lectures look like shows, how do you relate on your fan base?

VA  I’m am still the same kid that is looking for inspiration. If that makes me a fan then I am one in the same with anyone that is looking towards me for inspiration.

GCCC   What about Ed Hardy ?

VA  The Ed Hardy aesthetic is a precursor to our now.

Guccimaze ( Graphic Designer / Japan )

GM Who was your greatest fashion icon when you were a teenager? Or Which fashion icon were you most influenced by as a teenager?

VA  90s skateboarding culture as a whole was my generation. Beyond that hip-hop music impacted me the most intermarriage of how o saw “fashion”

GM  What do you think about graphic designs in fashion recently?

VA  I think it’s a major step forward now that graphics design is embraced as much as it is in “proper” fashion.

GM  What would you like to do if you had a 365-day vacation?

VA  Die.

Jamie-Maree Shipton (Stylist / UK)

JMS  Who do you have in mind when designing at LV?

VA  I have the goal to evolve the idea of what “luxury fashion” means.

JMS  How does your creative brain work so efficiently that you can design, collaborate and dabble in everything that you do? Has it been something you have had to train your brain for, to always be able to just switch it on, or are you always in the creative process zone?

VA  For me, creativity is my only field. At that perspective each genre is only a different medium, it’s not a different discipline.

JMS  In your opinion, what’s the most iconic piece of clothing/accessory you have created? 

VA  The idea of what clothing is and its ability to be a metaphor while documenting our current times is my major aim.

JMS When will you release a unisex collection?

VA  I consider what I make now as purely unisex.

Basile Fournier (Ecal Student in Graphic Design / Switzerland )

BF   What is your creative process right now, is it evolving permanently?

VA  My creative process is to continually immerse myself in the now, and be constantly inspired to output.

BF   What is your best advice for a young designer?

VA  My advise is to just do it.

BF   What does it mean to be relevant and original in design for you?

VA   To be relevant is to resonate. To be original is linked to ones DNA. That one is a deeper conversation linked to human evolution.

BF   How do you measure the importance of graphic design within your work?

VA  I rate it as a key component.

TS   How do we strive for impact when nothing is shocking anymore?

VA  I focus on making a body of work not a series of individual ideas.

TS   I know you are a super experimental person yet the output of your brand speaks a very universal language, this is key to commercial success but how does any label growing this fast can manage to keep creativity on point ?

VA  For me my brand Off-White ™ is metaphorical a blank canvas. That where the name stems from. It’s a place to continually paint. As long as I’m inspired there is no shortage of ideas.

TS   You’re super positive about everything, but it would be also interesting to know your complains about the industry or the things that you don’t like, at the end, you are reshaping a lot of the scene.

VA  That is actually my advantage. I pour my complaints into my work. Complaining is a water effort. Where as creating is not.

Virgil Abloh full interview appears in TUNICA Magazine Issue No. 7. Get yours here.