Virgil Abloh designed a Louis Vuitton snowboard case for Shaun White.
Virgil Abloh designed Shaun White's Louis Vuitton snowboard case
The Olympic champion has hailed the late fashion icon - who passed away in November, aged 41, following a private battle with cancer - as “an incredibly nice guy” and “enthusiastic about life” while revealing that the Louis Vuitton menswear creative director and Off-White founder made him a bespoke LV case for the Beijing Winter Olympics before his death.
The 35-year-old snowboarder told Vanity Fair: “I’d heard that he snowboarded, but I didn’t know that he was such a big fan of it. Virgil was an incredibly nice guy, just enthusiastic about life.
“At the end of our conversation, I mentioned to him how I collected vintage LV luggage and that it would be a dream of mine to have a Louis Vuitton snowboard case and his response was ‘No e***** way. This is perfect for what we’re doing right now!’”
The video game star - who is working on his own snowboarding wear collection with Whitespace - is still working with Virgil’s team.
Shaun said: “We definitely were still talking and working together even after Virgil’s passing.
“[The sketches] just arrived last week and I didn’t even put them away when I got home; I just set them out right in the living room. They’re just on display. I think they’re so perfect.”
He expressed being “so honoured” to be bringing Virgil’s designs to his last Olympic Games - currently ongoing in Beijing - and how Virgi’s widow Shannon had voiced her approval.
Shaun said: I’m so honoured to be able to bring them with me to my last Olympics. Virgil’s wife also commented on my post on Instagram saying that the Abloh house will be cheering me on at the Olympics, and that Virgil would be so stoked. That meant so much to me when I saw that. I’ll definitely be bringing a piece of him with me to Beijing.”