A groundbreaking new exhibition at the Grand Palais in Paris is offering visitors an unprecedented look into the design process and vast creative archive of the late fashion icon Virgil Abloh. 'Virgil Abloh: The Codes,' presented by the Virgil Abloh Archive and Nike, showcases approximately 700 items from an archive containing more than 20,000 pieces stored across two undisclosed facilities in the Midwest.
The exhibition opens with a striking recreation of Colette, the influential Parisian retail destination that closed in 2017. Complete with a miniature white façade, broad windows, signature blue awnings, and the iconic double dot logo, visitors pass through this recreation to reach a selection of collectible merchandise. This unconventional entrance through what appears to be a gift shop represents exactly the kind of design-slash-art installation that Abloh was known for throughout his career.
Colette holds special significance in Abloh's journey, as it was there in 2008 that he conceived a T-shirt featuring a medallion made up of the store's letters outlined in blue. This project preceded his later ventures including Pyrex Vision and the ambitious brand that would become Off-White. According to Shannon Abloh, Virgil's wife, Colette was always their first stop when visiting Paris in the early 2000s, even before checking into their hotel.
The exhibition, which coincides with what would have been Abloh's 45th birthday, is founded and led by Shannon Abloh alongside co-directors Mahfuz and Chloe Sultan, who are based in Los Angeles. The Sultans first met Abloh ten years ago at MoMA, where Chloe had commissioned him to DJ as part of a Yoko Ono performance. Mahfuz represents one of the younger people Abloh encouraged to reach out - he had just been accepted to Harvard's Graduate School of Design when he introduced himself to Abloh in an elevator at the museum.
This expanded European debut of the exhibition spans 13,350 square feet across multiple levels. The first floor features plush carpeting that resembles travertine tiles, with giant columns made of OSB strand board or paneled in mirrors stretching toward the ceiling. Display cases filled with external hard drives and dozens of small, randomly-sourced USB keys sit alongside large dividing walls that reference the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona, juxtaposed with an Ikea rug and Abloh's interpretation of Jean Prouvé's Antony Chair for Vitra.
The Lowe and Grey Abloh Archive, named after Abloh's two children, is sectioned off as pale blue shelving packed with T-shirts, ceramics, Chrome Hearts orange traffic cones, Louis Vuitton leather accessories shaped like carrots and lemons, Evian glass water bottles, and scores of other products that progressed from concept to reality. Among the rarest items on display is a Supreme T-shirt from 2019 designed for Chief Keef but never released, making it one of the rarest tees in the world.
Nearly every item in the exhibition was produced between 2013 and 2021, demonstrating Abloh's incredibly prolific output during this period. 'He was making things very, very quickly,' said Mahfuz. 'He was making multiple things at once. He was working on projects for various brands and in multiple mediums all in the same studio. And so sometimes I think if you're looking at just one product or one project, you're only seeing a part of the story.'
The exhibition's second floor features a reconstruction of Abloh's Pont Neuf studio, complete with his orange irregular table filled with papers and samples. An adjacent table displays his speakers and DJ systems, including those produced by Pioneer in transparent casing. Racks of clothes from his personal collection and an extensive Nike sneaker wall showcase more than 200 styles, some never released, that will likely be studied and coveted by collectors and sneaker enthusiasts alike.
Benji B, who collaborated with Abloh on numerous projects including the Louis Vuitton runway soundtracks, reflected on the designer's prolific nature: 'All of us who were extremely close with Virgil thought we knew everything, but there's just a never-ending, eternal, super mind-blowing prolific output. Only with the benefit of retrospect can we look at the work together and see that a) it all makes sense and b) it's all part of the same conversation.'
Beyond the physical objects, the exhibition compellingly showcases Abloh's notes and creative process - the 'codes' referenced in the title. Sketches provide insight into works in progress, while video screens of him DJing remind visitors of his boundless energy. Much like the Japanese subculture of otaku - an obsession with collecting various forms of pop culture - Abloh was an ardent collector of design and fashion, serving as a dedicated archivist and cultural historian.
A unique feature of the exhibition is the Nike Media Lab, a glossy red station of computer terminals where visitors can access, remix, and use Abloh's actual design files - nearly a terabyte of material. This 'radical transparency,' as Chloe Sultan describes it, allows anyone to walk away with printed files or store them on a USB key, creating an altogether different kind of gift shop experience in the true spirit of Abloh's philosophy.
Running only until October 9th, the show was intentionally timed to coincide with Fashion Week, serving as a large-scale reunion for Abloh's friends, family, and collaborators. The programming, dubbed 'Virgil Abloh: Worlds Fair,' includes talks, workshops, performances, and televised radio content that will explore his personal interests, including Paris-specific locations such as Ofr bookshop, Castor Fleuriste, and Wild & the Moon. 'I don't think there's been a time in the last four years when the full community and group have been able to get together,' Shannon Abloh noted, emphasizing the exhibition's role in bringing together those who have navigated grief differently while embracing love and giving it back to the community.
