African-American designer Virgil Abloh just keeps on winning!
After being hired by Louis Vuitton as its next artistic director of menswear, Abloh has now made his mark on the football pitch. He recently unveiled his design for Nike's Mercurial football boot, which is set to be released on March 31.
The exotic boot design was a way, Abloah quips, of bridging "the gap between foot and eye coordination". The unique designs on the boots are aimed at showing players wearing them where to strike the ball, as well as sending a strong message of confidence to the opposition through their brazen, brightly coloured design.
Design is a powerful tool, as it communicates energy and a message Virgil Abloh
"In my approach, I thought about what it would be like if I saw someone wearing the boot."
"Design is a powerful tool, as it communicates energy and a message, and it offers the unique capacity to make someone do a double -ake on-pitch — I feel like it would be intimidating to see this boot."
Abloh seems to be having the best year of his career, and is certainly reaping the rewards for his past efforts. As he continues his meteoric rise in the fashion industry, here are just some of his notable achievements and collaborations:
Sourced from Vogue
2006: Abloh completes his master's degree in architecture from the Illinois Institute of Technology
2009: Abloh and Kanye West become interns at Fendi in Rome.
2010: Abloh officially assumes the role of creative director at Donda, West's creative agency.
2011: Abloh art-directs the album "Watch The Throne" by Jay-Z and West, an achievement that earns him a Grammy nomination.
2012: Abloh launches his first brand, Pyrex Vision, in New York
2013: Abloh drops Pyrex and founds Off-White
2014: Abloh launches womenswear for Off-White
2016: Abloh opens his first concept store in the Aoyama area of Tokyo
2018: Abloh is named the artistic director of Louis Vuitton's menswear collections