Louis Vuitton and Off-White Designer Virgil Abloh Dies of Cancer at 41

Virgil Abloh, the designer who for the past three years was the artistic director of Louis Vuitton's menswear collection and who was the CEO of Off-White, has died after a secret cancer battle. He was 41.

The official LV Twitter made the crushing announcement on Sunday, writing, "LVMH, Louis Vuitton and Off White are devastated to announce the passing of Virgil Abloh, on Sunday, November 28th, of cancer, which he had been battling privately for several years."

Bernard Arnault, chairman and CEO of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, said in a statement, "We are all shocked after this terrible news. Virgil was not only a genius designer, a visionary, he was also a man with a beautiful soul and great wisdom. The LVMH family joins me in this moment of great sorrow, and we are all thinking of his loved ones after the passing of their husband, their father, their brother or their friend."

Abloh was born in Rockford, Illinois, on September 30, 1980. He interned at Fendi in 2009 with Kanye West, with whom he collaborated when launching Off-White in 2013. His ascent at LV was history-making — Abloh was the first American of African descent to be an artistic director at a French luxury fashion house, and the year he achieved his position was named one of Time's 100 Most Influential People in the World.

His reign was not without controversy, including a spirited back-and-forth with IG sensation Diet Prada regarding the originality of his designs.

Along with his many fashion and fine-arts accomplishments, Abloh was a high-end DJ who had released music for the past few years.