Virgil's destiny was already written in his name
Walter D'Aprile, the CEO of nss pays tribute to Virgil Abloh
November 30th, 2021
Virgil Abloh was a source of inspiration and a pioneer, the whole nss’ editorial staff and team magazine huddles in condolences to the family and collaborators.
Our lives are based on two variables, space and time. The substantial difference between them lies in the fact that the time we spend on this earth is finite, measurable, while the space we occupy can be infinite. Then, as in all things, there are exceptions that demonstrate us the uniqueness of life, there are souls who through their art, their genius, manage to occupy a space that transcends time and becomes infinite, these people are stars, they are the sun around which passions, fears and joys of entire generations revolve. Virgil Abloh was and still is a star, a reference, a light that has traced the direction of change through culture, in terms of knowledge and dedication, deepening and sacrifice towards what we love. Life is not always a fertile field where every day we can sow what we love and hope to make it born, this is one of its greatest teachings. But how difficult is it to cultivate one's passion and transform it into something concrete? How hard is it to transform what we love into a job that most people even struggle to understand?
I remember the younger version of me, my arrival in the "cold" Milan, the disappearing of my camera, still leased, the first studio in Naples without electricity and then I see the realm of possibilities, of which Virgil was the master. Virgil as the Virgil that leads Dante, the teacher, the spiritual father, a guide for those of us who everyday struggle with monsters in the hell of our ego. We coexist with our mistakes and our weaknesses, in search of a paradise land where beauty is simply doing what we love. Virgil's destiny was already written in his name, he could not have a different role, his life was like the Canti of hell of the Divina Commedia and we are like Dante, ready to follow his gestures and his art to enter the hell of our fears and reach the paradise of our achievements. He taught us to "not care for them", not to be slothful, to take sides, to respect our ideas and to put them into practice by breaking the barriers of ignorance. The fashion pyramid, the luxury that looked at streetwear with distrust like the gates of Hell where only Virgil was our hope of change.
Dante is afraid to enter the gates of Hell, the youngest are afraid to share their dreams and their projects, Virgil gave us the possibility of doing so, of taking risks and of pushing ourselves further. Every day we get on the boat of life accompanied by Virgil and we feel safer, so much that even Charon's insults seem to us only futile. We are focused on the journey and we are not afraid of learning and making mistakes. We have chosen who we want to be and we are ready to occupy our space on earth for an infinite time as Virgil will continue to do. Culture makes people immortal because the words of a true master resound silently up to the Pillars of Hercules, becoming the soundtrack of a life where "you were not made to live like brutes but to follow virtue and knowledge"
Thanks.