Ye West is reportedly set to become the creative director at Louis Vuitton.
The 44-year-old rapper is said to be lined up to follow in the footsteps of his late friend Virgil Abloh — the brand’s former artistic director for menswear — following his death last month at 41.
An insider told The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre column: “Ye is devastated about Virgil’s death because they had been friends for years and worked together a lot.”
“They shared a similar vision and now Ye feels he owes it to Virgil to continue his work at Louis Vuitton.”
It’s said the pair had been talking about the new role for West before Virgil lost his battle with cancer.
They first met at Fendi in 2009 as they started learning about fashion, and the following year West’s friend became creative director of his company Donda.
Two years later, he worked as artistic director on West and Jay-Z’s Watch the Throne tour.
Last month, the rapper dedicated his Sunday Service to his late friend and longtime collaborator following his death after a private battle with a rare form of cancer.
A message on the Sunday Service website from the star read: “In loving memory of Virgil Abloh, the creative director of Donda.”
Abloh was diagnosed in 2019 and, heroically, continued working in fashion while going through “numerous challenging treatments.”
He leaves behind his wife Shannon Abloh and their two children, Lowe Abloh and Grey Abloh.
