“An enlightening book,” says The New York Times, “a biography and cultural history of Virgil Abloh’s iconic success, which fundamentally changed the relationship between who we are and what we wear.”
“Robin Givhan captures Abloh’s multifaceted character and the changing times with clarity and sensitivity. There has never been a book like this.” —Essence Magazine
In 2018, the news that Virgil Abloh had been appointed Artistic Director of Men’s at Louis Vuitton shocked the fashion world. He was the first Black designer in the brand’s 164-year history. But Pulitzer Prize-winning cultural critic Robin Givhan reveals that Abloh’s story is not just one of individual success, but a symbol of a larger transformation.
By tracing Abloh’s unexpected career trajectory, Givhan explores these questions: How did the exclusive and tradition-bound world of luxury fashion face a “revolution from below” by streetwear and designers with the will to “break down doors”? How did the definition of luxury change? How did fashion respond in an era when a T-shirt could have as much cultural power as an haute couture gown?
Abloh’s rise coincided with a time when the fashion industry was re-examining its responsibility for diversity and the meaning of status for a new generation that revered sneakers and prioritized comfort. The core of this book is the question of why he—who had no formal training in pattern making or tailoring—became a symbol of the industry’s “future.”
Make It Ours is at once an outstanding biography of a singularly creative figure and a profound reflection on fashion and race, aesthetics and exclusivity, genius and luxury.
Through interviews with Abloh’s family, friends, collaborators, and contemporaries, author Givhan brings to life fascinating figures—from pioneering Black designers like Ozwald Boateng to Kanye West, a crucial employer and mentor—vividly portraying the success story of one young man and the cultural turning points that made it possible.
