Paris fashion star Virgil Abloh pays tribute to Kanye West – a move to heal the hurt?
Could Abloh’s Instagram posting praising West help get their friendship back on track?
Virgil Abloh paid tribute to his friend and long-time collaborator Kanye West as the US designer took star billing at Paris Fashion Week Men’s, which began on Tuesday.
Relations between the pair have been tested since Abloh was named head of menswear at Louis Vuitton in March, with the rapper saying it was “hurtful” to lose his muse and erstwhile artistic director.
West has made no secret of his own ambitions to lead a major luxury brand as a designer, and revealed last month that he had also once been in talks with Louis Vuitton’s owner, French fashion magnate Bernard Arnault.
Abloh – the son of Ghanaian immigrants – will show his own Off-White label in Paris on Wednesday before making his debut bow with the world’s biggest luxury brand on Thursday.
As he put the finishing touches to his collections, he posted a photo of Kanye West to his 2.3 million Instagram followers with legend, “The architect of it all”.
West’s wife Kim Kardashian responded with emojis of a heart and two fires to signal her approval. The rapper – who has his own Yeezy line for Adidas – remained silent.
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