The set up of the exhibition feels like a garage sale, with stacks of folded Off-White T-shirts and Nike trainer collaborations mixed in with paintbrushes, scissors, and old laptops. A pair of Nike Air Jordan 1's are turned inside out, while a leather handbag printed with the word 'sculpture' rests on a stool. The objects on display were brought together by the Virgil Abloh Archive, a privately managed and supported organization led by Shannon Abloh (founder and CEO of Virgil Abloh Securities). Its mission is to carry forward Virgil Abloh's ideas.
"The Codes" were at the heart of everything Virgil Abloh did, from slogans in quotation marks to remade sneakers, furniture, and album covers. The exhibition shows how these codes became a visual language and a guide for sharing, creativity, and collaboration. Sketches, prototypes, objects, photos, unfinished projects, and personal treasures form a true 3D map of a mind that knew no limits. Fashion, music, architecture, design, graphics, advertising, performance, nothing escaped his creative mind.
Deeper in the exhibition, we found a recreation of Abloh's Louis Vuitton office, he used to joke that his phone was his desk, and a full-size DJ booth. It pays tribute to his cultural roots and his early days in Illinois in the 2000s, when he performed as DJ Flat White. Abloh's time at Louis Vuitton was highly successful, but it was his collaborations with global brands that truly expanded his influence. Whether it was a Rimowa suitcase, a Nike trainer, or an Evian bottle, he treated each product like a remix, of an existing idea. This came from his: "3% approach", the belief that you could create something new by changing an original by just three percent.
The exhibition also highlighted his open-source design initiative, which gave young creatives free access to his methods and resources (Rememer his first show at Louis vuitton inviting Fashion design students from Paris?). The exhibition continued Abloh's educational mission, there were workshops and talks and parts of the Grand Palais turned into classrooms, emphasizing his belief that creativity should be accessible to all, not just a few.
As the first Black creative director at a Parisian fashion house, Abloh offered a bold vision of contemporary style, bridging design, popular culture, music, and celebrity. While some critics dismissed his work as too simple or derivative, he undeniably left his mark on his era by turning streetwear into true luxury. His work championed accessibility, collaboration, cultural reappropriation, creative justice, and cross-disciplinary thinking. The exhibition explores his extraordinary creations and multi-layered style, spanning streetwear, art, and design, while highlighting his commitment to mentoring and opening doors for the next generation of creatives.
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