Virgil Abloh’s Online Presence in the Fashion Industry
Virgil Abloh born in Rockford Illinois in 1980, is one the most successful fashion designers in recent years and is an icon within the streetwear community. Virgil founded the fashion brand Off White which is named as the most popular fashion brand in 2020 according to the Lyst index. Virgil has also taken the role of artistic director of Louis Vuitton’s menswear line since 2018. One of the key factors of Virgil’s success is his use of social media to showcase his designs to an engaging audience.
Instagram is the main social media platform Virgil uses to create brand awareness and market his products. Virgil Abloh and Off White have 5.8m and 11m followers respectively, which is very impressive given the company’s age. For instance, the established fashion brands Saint Laurent and Giorgio Armani have smaller followings. Additionally, these Instagram pages have a very high engagement percentage in comparison with other brands indicating a strong connection with the fanbase. Virgil uses Instagram to promote upcoming releases however, his way of posting is untraditional as he posts a wide variety of photos often of early design concepts and architecture to show his creative process. Virgil aims to engage with the streetwear community as they account for a large proportion of the demand for Off White. He achieves this by posting pictures in urban areas and with skateboarders which helps to build a connection with the community.
One factor that played a major role in the success of Off White is brand collaborations. In particular, the Nike collaboration played a major part in Off White’s success especially In the streetwear scene. In this collaboration, Virgil put an Off White twist on 10 classic Nike sneakers. This collaboration was released in limited quantities and was heavily marketed on his Instagram page. Additionally, various influencers received early pairs which they then posted on social media creating even more hype. Everyone in the sneaker community was eager to snatch a pair. The collection sold out instantly and is now being resold for much more than its retail value on reselling platforms such as stock x.
Virgil has also amassed a large following on Twitter and currently has almost 500 thousand followers. However, Virgil does not only use his twitter page as a marketing platform. Virgil uses Twitter to improve his image and to address his concerns. Virgil regularly makes posts regarding his commitment to the black lives matter movement and has recently raised one million dollars to provide black students from poor backgrounds with university scholarships.
Controversy
Like many social influencers, Virgil has faced controversy. One recent incident where he faced backlash was when he posted on social media donating $50 to black lives matter protestors, which many felt was far too little. Virgil responded on social media stating he had donated $20,500 in total to causes related to the movement.
Overall Virgil has managed to leverage his large following to create hype around his products, which lead to a successful fashion brand that plays a major part in the modern fashion world.
