KICK OFF: The Virgil Abloh Archive and Paris Saint-Germain soccer club, which was close to the designer’s heart, have officially launched their collaboration designed to create opportunities for young people.
It began on Saturday with special programming for students ages 11 to 15 taking part in PSG youth initiatives at “Virgil Abloh: The Codes.” It is the first major European exhibition dedicated to the late founder of Off-White, creative director of menswear at Louis Vuitton and all-around creative polymath, held at the Grand Palais.
Young people from PSG For Communities’ École Rouge & Bleu and Allez Les Filles program took part in workshops, and customized PSG shirts and footballs in honor of Abloh, who sought to expand access and opportunities for young people’s creativity. That mission is carried on today through his archive, which serves as a community-building platform and resource to create shared and public spaces for art.
Also kicking off the tie-in, starting Sunday, is a limited-edition PSG T-shirt designed by the Virgil Abloh Archive. This was inspired by PSG’s 2024-26 away uniform and nods to Abloh’s style. The T-shirt has on it a lynx, PSG’s official mascot, in the vein of a traditional sporting emblem in the U.S. “Away From Home” is written on the shirt, honoring the American designer’s creative heritage in Paris.
The shirt is now available at store.psg.fr, then starting Monday, it will be sold in official PSG shops and in the Colette pop-up in the Grand Palais through Thursday, when “Virgil Abloh: The Codes” ends there.
The Virgil Abloh Archive and Paris Saint-Germain tie-in creates opportunities for young people.
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Proceeds from the shirt’s sale will go to PSG, for the École Rouge & Bleu program, through the Paris Saint-Germain Endowment Fund, and the Virgil Abloh Foundation.
“This partnership with PSG is deeply significant because it reflects everything Virgil believed in: community, creativity and encouraging young people to dream bigger and build their own future,” said Shannon Abloh, founder and president of the Virgil Abloh Foundation and president and chair of the Virgil Abloh Archive, who was the late designer’s wife, in a statement. “The Virgil Abloh Foundation makes a daily commitment to this mission, and we are proud to bring it to Paris, a city that inspired and thrilled Virgil so much.”
“For the last 25 years, PSG for Communities has provided guidance for young people through education, sport and social impact,” said Fabien Allègre, chief brand officer at Paris Saint-Germain and vice president of PSG for Communities. “Thanks to the mentorship, openness and access it provides to the creative industries, the Virgil Abloh Foundation perpetuates the late designer’s vision by offering opportunities to under-represented young creative talents.”