Virgil Abloh Creates $1 Million Scholarship Fund For Black Creatives Amidst Backlash Over Prior Donations

Virgil Abloh Creates $1 Million Scholarship Fund For Black Creatives Amidst Backlash Over Prior Donations

Despite the criticism international fashion designer Virgil Abloh has recently received, he has reportedly created a brand new scholarship aimed at helping black students achieve their dreams in the evolving world of fashion design. The fund is called the Virgil Abloh Post-Modern Scholarship Fund and it has received significant contributions from well-known brands like Louis Vuitton, whom the designer is partnered with, and bottled-water company Evian, along with money directly from Virgil Abloh himself.

Recently, the Rockford, Illinois-born/Chicago-living fashion designer made headlines for allegedly only donating $50 to a bail fund for social injustice/Black Lives Matter movement protestors. He’s since clarified that he had donated more than $20,000 to this cause.

However, Virgil Abloh has also come under fire for his design of slain rapper Pop Smoke‘s album cover where an online petition garnered more than 18,000 signatures demanding that the cover art be changed. Even rapper and television producer 50 Cent, who was a producer for Pop Smoke‘s posthumous album, requested a change:

Consequently, the album, entitled Shoot for the Moon, Aim for the Stars, was released July 3 with new cover art:

In an interview with fashion magazine Vogue, Virgil says that he believes that his new scholarship fund will be able to cover the cost of education for 100 black students. H added,

“I started as a 17-year-old kid whose parents wanted him to be an engineer, but I wanted to be a fashion designer… I’m 39-years-old and it’s taken me that time to work to get here and prove my pedigree and to be in a position to activate change.”

Virgil continued,

“It’s time for us not to make this industry about fashion, but about people… And I’ve been pouring that into my own work. I’m looking at this as a call to action for me to take on more challenges that don’t only end up on the runway, but that end up changing people’s lives.”

What do you think about Virgil Abloh’s black creatives’ scholarship? Share with us in the comments!