For years, Kanye West and Virgil Abloh were two names that felt almost impossible to separate when talking about Hip-Hop’s takeover of the fashion world. Before Abloh became the founder of Off-White and made history at Louis Vuitton, he was part of Ye’s creative circle, helping turn some of the rapper’s biggest musical eras into full-fledged visual worlds. Together, they were among a generation of Black creatives determined to force their way into spaces that weren’t exactly welcoming them with open arms.
But their relationship was apparently more complicated than the public knew. During a recent appearance on The Jason Lee Show, A$AP Rocky claimed Ye was responsible for cooling his once-close relationship with Abloh. Rocky remembered spending time with Virgil and his crew in Harlem and said A$AP Mob was “heavy” with them before Ye allegedly “deaded” the situation after seeing how much creative work Virgil was doing for Rocky. Abloh served as creative for Rocky’s 2013 debut album Long.Live.A$APand directed the Rihanna-starring “Fashion Killa” video.
Jason Lee repeatedly asked whether Rocky believed jealousy was behind Ye’s actions, but Rocky stopped short of putting that label on him, stressing that Ye was still “his man.” Still, the story adds another layer to what we now know about Ye and Abloh’s friendship. Years later, Ye himself would acknowledge experiencing jealousy when Virgil reached one of fashion’s highest positions.
Their story is bigger than jealousy or a falling out, though. Ye and Virgil spent years dreaming about entering an industry that rarely gave Black men from Hip-Hop that kind of access, and both ultimately helped change it. Their relationship included friendship, mentorship, collaboration, competition and, at times, obvious tension. Even during its messiest chapters, it remained one of the most consequential creative partnerships of their generation. Here’s a look back at the complicated relationship between Kanye West and Virgil Abloh.
2007-2009: Virgil Joins Kanye’s Creative World
Abloh began working closely with Ye as the rapper’s ambitions expanded beyond music and deeper into design and fashion. By 2009, the two were famously running around Paris Fashion Week with Ye’s creative crew, determined to be taken seriously in an industry that largely viewed them as outsiders. That era produced the now-iconic photos of Ye, Virgil, Don C and others outside the shows—images that were mocked at the time but eventually became symbolic of hip-hop forcing its way into high fashion.
2009: Kanye & Virgil Intern At Fendi
One of the most important chapters came when Ye and Abloh interned at Fendi in Rome. Neither man needed an internship in the traditional sense, but the opportunity gave them a chance to learn the luxury-fashion business from the inside. The experience became part of the mythology surrounding their partnership: two already-successful Black creatives willing to start near the bottom because they wanted access to a world they planned on eventually changing.
2010-2012: Virgil Becomes One Of Ye’s Most Important Creative Partners
Abloh became creative director of Ye’s creative agency DONDA and played an increasingly important role in the visual language surrounding his music and fashion projects. His work touched eras including My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Watch the Throne and G.O.O.D. Music’s Cruel Summer, while his art direction on Ye and JAY-Z’s Watch the Throne earned him a Grammy nomination. By this point, Virgil was no longer simply someone in Ye’s entourage—he was becoming a creative force in his own right.
2012-2013: Virgil Begins Building His Own Empire
Abloh launched Pyrex Vision in 2012 before founding Off-White the following year, beginning his transformation from Ye collaborator into one of fashion’s most recognizable designers. At the same time, his creativity was spreading throughout hip-hop. That included his work with A$AP Rocky, serving as creative director for Long.Live.A$AP and directing “Fashion Killa.” Rocky now says Virgil doing that work—and doing much of it for free—eventually caused Ye to put distance between Virgil and the A$AP crew.
2013-2017: Virgil Steps Out Of Kanye’s Shadow
As Off-White exploded, Abloh increasingly became known on his own terms. The designer’s ability to mix streetwear, luxury, music, art and sneaker culture turned Off-White into one of the defining brands of the decade. His collaborations, particularly his massively influential work with Nike, helped establish Virgil as something much bigger than “Kanye’s creative director.”
That evolution also changed the dynamic between the two men. Ye had spent years fighting for acceptance as a legitimate fashion designer, while someone who came up alongside him was quickly climbing toward the very top of the industry.
Ye publicly celebrated the achievement, saying there was validation in watching someone he came up with reach the top of Louis Vuitton. But his feelings were complicated. He had spent years trying to break through luxury fashion himself and had his own history and ambitions with Louis Vuitton.
June 2018: Kanye & Virgil Share Their Emotional Louis Vuitton Hug
One of the defining images of their friendship came at Virgil’s first Louis Vuitton menswear show. After presenting his collection on the now-famous rainbow runway in Paris, Abloh walked toward Ye and the two embraced while openly crying.
Source: WWD / Getty
The moment meant even more once Virgil explained it. He credited Ye with having the audacity years earlier to insist they belonged at Fashion Week when people were still trying to put them in a box. For Abloh, reaching Louis Vuitton wasn’t solely his victory. As he explained afterward, the dream was Ye’s “just as much as it’s mine.”
2018-2019: The Complicated Feelings Become More Obvious
The Louis Vuitton appointment also exposed some of the tension underneath their relationship. Ye acknowledged publicly that Virgil’s new position affected him emotionally, particularly because of his own difficulties breaking through fashion’s highest barriers. In a 2019 interview, Ye went even further while discussing Louis Vuitton, saying, “It was supposed to be me.”
Those feelings didn’t erase his pride in Virgil, but they showed how friendship and competition had become intertwined. They had once dreamed of getting inside fashion together; now Virgil occupied one of the exact seats Ye had envisioned for himself.
2021: Virgil Abloh Dies At 41
Abloh died on Nov. 28, 2021, at just 41 years old after privately battling cardiac angiosarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer. His death stunned the fashion, music and art worlds, particularly because he had largely kept his illness private while continuing to work.
Source: Lexie Moreland / Getty
Hours after the news became public, Ye dedicated his Sunday Service to his longtime friend and collaborator. The choir performed a special service honoring Abloh, including a reworked rendition of Adele’s “Easy on Me.” Whatever complications existed between them, Virgil had clearly remained an important figure in Ye’s life.
2022: Kanye Admits He Was Jealous Of Virgil’s Louis Vuitton Success
A year after Virgil’s death, Ye finally put a word to some of the complicated emotions surrounding his friend’s Louis Vuitton appointment. During an interview with French outlet Clique, Ye explained that he believed he had once been in line for his own deal with LVMH before it fell apart. When Virgil eventually landed the Louis Vuitton job, Ye admitted he experienced “a lot of pain and jealousy.”
The admission added important context to a friendship that had always appeared equal parts brotherhood and creative competition. Virgil had accomplished something Ye desperately wanted—but he had also accomplished something the two of them once dreamed about together.
2026: A$AP Rocky Adds Another Chapter To The Story
Years after Abloh’s death, Rocky’s comments to Jason Lee have provided another glimpse into how protective Ye may have been of Virgil during their rise. According to Rocky, A$AP Mob’s once-frequent relationship with Abloh’s circle changed after Ye saw how heavily Virgil was contributing to Rocky’s creative world. Rocky says they still interacted afterward, but the days of everybody constantly hanging together essentially ended.
Rocky notably refused to call Ye jealous himself. But his story hits differently knowing Ye later openly admitted jealousy played a role in his feelings toward Virgil’s success at Louis Vuitton. It makes their history even more layered: two Black creatives who entered fashion together, opened doors that had long been closed to people who looked like them, inspired each other, competed with each other and ultimately changed the industry in ways neither could have done alone.
