On December 12, entrepreneurs, creators, and makers including rock star fashion designer, DJ, and creative director Virgil Abloh gathered at Skylight Modern in New York City for the grand finale of the American Express OPEN Success Makers series. The event showcased the intersection of art and design with interactive art exhibitions created exclusively for the night.
Photo by Jenna Landry for Pulp Lab
The feature of the night was an in-depth conversation with Virgil Abloh and Solange Knowles around how to branch out, innovate a brand and become a multi-faceted entrepreneur. Both emphasized the authenticity of connecting with community:
“I think for me it’s just to live and exist in my truth as authentic and honestly as I possibly can. Sometimes, that’s really scary. It can be really frightening to exist wholly in your truth, and to share that with people. So, I’d like to think that I was being recognized with both Billboard and Glamour for just that. I’ve been really, really blessed and lucky that every day when I walk down the street, I am able to connect with a community of people who have received my work, who have felt impacted by it in one way or another.”
– Solange Knowles“To me, that’s sort of root at what keeps me going, it’s the validation from the kid down the street. Ironically, not from those awards that are enlisted before we came out. I think we would both be doing that with or without.”
– Virgil Abloh
Virgil Abloh – Off-White™
Fashion industry insider, Virgil Abloh launched Off-White in 2014 and was nominated for the illustrious LVMH Prize the same year. The designer has achieved rock star status for his zeitgeist-capturing, covetable collaborations with Nike and iconoclastic artists like Barbara Kruger. Expect patchwork cut denim and slick street wear.
