Virgil Abloh, the designer who for the past three years was the artistic director of Louis Vuitton’s menswear collection and who was the CEO of Off-White, has died after a secret cancer battle. He was 41.

The official LV Twitter made the crushing announcement on Sunday, writing, “LVMH, Louis Vuitton and Off White are devastated to announce the passing of Virgil Abloh, on Sunday, November 28th, of cancer, which he had been battling privately for several years.”

Bernard Arnault, chairman and CEO of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, said in a statement, “We are all shocked after this terrible news. Virgil was not only a genius designer, a visionary, he was also a man with a beautiful soul and great wisdom. The LVMH family joins me in this moment of great sorrow, and we are all thinking of his loved ones after the passing of their husband, their father, their brother or their friend.”

Abloh was born in Rockford, Illinois, on September 30, 1980. He interned at Fendi in 2009 with Kanye West, with whom he collaborated when launching Off-White in 2013. His ascent at LV was history-making — Abloh was the first American of African descent to be an artistic director at a French luxury fashion house, and the year he achieved his position was named one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People in the World.

His reign was not without controversy, including a spirited back-and-forth with IG sensation Diet Prada regarding the originality of his designs.

Damn. Gutted. @virgilabloh is gone. He just texted me a few days ago… still —just a week ago— pushing me to focus on passion. The world lost an amazing talent today. I had no idea what he was fighting. Please don’t squander your time. I’m trying to do better myself. pic.twitter.com/RRQmCtUGPf

— Alexis Ohanian 7️⃣7️⃣6️⃣ (@alexisohanian) November 28, 2021