"PROOF" by Cam Hicks Offers Never-Before-Seen Photos Behind Virgil Abloh's First Season at Louis Vuitton

The life and times of Virgil Abloh have been well-documented by the designer, his collaborators, and a multitude of admirers, near and far. Over the last few years, the Virgil Abloh Archive™ has been working to share the Illinois-native's legacy with the world, sharing looks into Abloh's expansive archive of collectibles, concepts, and collaborations. Most recently, the team handling the V.A.A.™ worked with NIKE, Inc. on the launch of the Virgil Abloh Archive x Air Jordan 1 retro, which took after the "Alaska" pair from 2018.

Outside of official V.A.A.™ affairs, Cam Hicks, a Maryland-born creative and founder of HICKS brand, has put together a 287-page monograph titled "PROOF" to share never-before-seen photos from Abloh's first collection as artistic director of menswear at Louis Vuitton. The 30-something-year-old storyteller worked with Abloh during the designer's time leading Off-White™, and, in 2018, got a chance to document the artistic director's Spring/Summer 2019 menswear collection We Are The World after shooting him a message: "I want to work with you at Louis Vuitton."

Hicks captured Abloh away from the moments that would entice paparazzi, gradually building a visual diary of a historical moment. Therein lies the inspiration behind the monograph's title—"PROOF" serves as proof that Abloh was the first Black man to hold such a high position at Louis Vuitton; proof that Abloh was always holding the door open for other Black creatives, too.

Up until now, the 500+ photos taken by Hicks had been stowed away in the archive, forming part of the tens of thousands of items that tell the story of Virgil Abloh. "PROOF" will be available in a limited number of quantities beginning on Friday, May 8. Only two editions of Hicks' monograph exist, so "PROOF" offers a glimpse at history through "high resolution flatbed scans of the original editions," as shared by the photographer on Instagram.

Sign up for a chance to purchase "PROOF" via proof.hicks.fm.