Ever heard of Off-White? It’s a story of innovation, value creation and is probably worth reading.
Virgil died too soon. His energy walking down the runway defied death. He just should not be someone we talk about in past tense. He died at 41. Virgil Abloh will be remembered as one of the most popular and influential fashion designers of our era. As both the founder of Off-White and the Creative Director of Menswear for Louis Vuitton.
I’ve been technology most of my career. And there are technology leaders that we followed through the 70s, 80s and 90s: Mr. K-Car, Lee Iacocca. Jack Welch, Jim Collins “Good to Great”, and of course Steve Jobs. In the 2000s, it was Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk. You get the story.
Yeah, all the same. They were in a time and at a time. Today, our leadership roles should have changed. But have they? I grew up looking at Steve Jobs as a flawed hero. The day he passed, I wept. I loved so much about him, his vision, his determination and his courage.
The day Virgil died, I discovered Virgil’s greatness.
For our initial “Becoming Data” podcast, we discussed among other topics, Virgil and the leadership lessons he left or redefined. In the future, I hope to read a good 795-page book about Virgil, his leadership and vision. We wanted to explore it now because today it’s even more relevant. History will write his story.
1. The market is bigger that you think. It’s limited by how you see it.
The gym shoe market for years was defined by sport. People used gym shoes as utilities, expensive but limited in function. Virgil moved Gym Shoes into the realm of Art and High Fashion. Most of the big shoe companies didn’t think so different. When the gym shoes became a fashion element, their myopic view was seen. How many products do we narrowly imagine? How many products do we lack the creative imagination to redefine. Much of this is defined by our culture. Culture is limiting. Data doesn’t the story. Different perspectives on the data can tell a different story.
Virgil came from a different culture. Yeah, diversity isn’t just a politically-correct slogan. Thinking from a different cultural perspective is a game changer.
$500 shoes 25 years ago was unheard of.
Walking down a Paris runway in them? Crazy. But you can’t really see what you can’t see. Virgil saw it, the same way Jobs did. Great leaders have a different vision than we do.
Yes.
Thinking Different is Profitable. Louis Vuitton
Here’s a look at the LVMH 5 year Stock Price.
https://www.lvmh.com/investors/lvmh-share/share-quotation/#graphiques-interactifs
2. Partnerships Matter.
Virgil built creative and business partnerships. Imagine Apple working with Amazon. Imagine Microsoft working with Sony. Imagine Tesla working with Ford. Companies are really just narrow empires defined by one monolithic business. But what if you built a brand from partnership. How different and creative can the products you give your customer’s be?
Some of the the notable partnerships Virgil had:
- Kanye West / Jay-Z Creative Director “Watch the Throne.”
- Hennessy with Rapper Nas
- IKEA Home Furnishings
- NIKE
- Louis Vuitton
Through partnerships, his vision penetrated the Fashion, Music, Home Furnishings, Clothing, High Fashion, Art and Architecture industries.
He didn’t dominate each industry, but through partnership he changed all of them!
3. You don’t need much to get stuff done.
During a Core Studio Public Lecture at Harvard, one of Virgil’s partners told of how Virgil got so much done:
Text.
It’s really that simple.
No laptop.
No software.
No Powerpoint presentations.
Just Text.
WhatsApp.
A haiku should have only three lines with a total of 17 syllables.
The limitations of text required him to very specific about his words and to be efficient and effective in his communication.
