Drake opened his tour with a huge statue of Virgil Abloh
The singer-turned-poet kicked off his first tour in five years in Abloh's home state of Illinois.
DRAKE HAS MADE no secret of his love for the late and great creative polymath, Virgil Abloh. The Canadian singer-songwriter and the former creative director of Louis Vuitton menswear and Off-White were close friends â Abloh famously designed the custom Patek Philippe Drake name-checks in his song “Life is Good,” for starters.
In the aftermath of Abloh’s passing in 2021, Drake shared a heartfelt tribute on Instagram, writing “my plan is to touch the sky 1000 more times for youâŠlove you eternally brother”. He went on to get a tattoo of the visionary creative on his arm, depicting an iconic photo from Abloh’s first show taking the helm of Louis Vuitton’s menswear. But on the opening night of his new tour, Drake took his admiration for the late designer to (literally) new heights, as he unveiled an enormous statue of Abloh.
Fittingly, Drake’s “It’s All A Blur” tour, which he is co-headlining with 21 Savage, kicked off in Chicago, Illinois â Abloh’s home state. During the show, Drake introduced the statue and urged fans to join him in paying homage to his friend.
âPlease make some noise for one of the most important people Iâve met in this industry. Make some noise for one of the greatest minds that weâve ever seen,â he said. âOur brother, our family, he goes by the name of Virgil Abloh. Letâs pay some respect.â
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The statue replicates that very same image Drake has tattooed. In the photo, Abloh is throwing a paper plane in the Palais-Royal garden in Paris, where he held the Spring/Summer 2019 runway â his first for Louis Vuitton. The show, and that paper plane, came to represent Abloh’s childlike wonder and innovative, playful vision that he brought to every project he worked on.
“Our brother is watching,” Drake wrote on a photo of the larger-than-life statue posted to his Instagram Story.
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