Robin Givhan:
He had this way of talking about how people were both insiders and outsiders sort of simultaneously. It just sort of depended on the context.
And he liked to describe himself as a fashion outsider. But he also was an insider for many of the people who followed him, many of the people who connected with him over social media. And, for them, the fact that he would share prototypes with them, that he wouldn’t just have a one-way conversation on social media, but would respond to their D.M.s, he hired people over Instagram, he invited them to his shows — I mean, the first time I actually really sort of noticed that sensibility was right before Virgil had gotten the appointment at Vuitton.
And it was one of his Off-White shows, his brand, that he was showing in Paris, this narrow little street. And typically the entrance is crowded and there’s a bit of a scrum to go in, but nothing terrible. This particular night, it was like a mosh pit. And I later learned that it was because, earlier in the day, Virgil had had a sneaker event.
And he had basically posted on Instagram, hey, I’m having a big fashion show, come on over. Designers do not do that. The designer of Chanel does not do that. But all of these sneaker fans and Virgil fans just showed up. And it was, yes, a little bit of chaos. But it really showed his desire to be transparent and open doors. And it showed the degree to which people loved him.
