PARIS — Virgil Abloh was known as the MVP of Paris Fashion Week, extending his presence from the runway to multiple collaboration launches, DJ sets and art exhibitions during his short yet prolific career.

That spirit lives on in “Virgil Abloh: The Codes,” 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.

Organized by Nike and the Virgil Abloh Archive, it features 1,000 objects culled from his output, personal collection and unpublished work, including 200 pairs of sneakers.

The show opened at the Grand Palais on Tuesday, on what would have been Abloh’s 45th birthday, and is set to run until Oct. 9 alongside a series of events including talks, workshops, DJ sets and screenings — including “surprise” conversations with Nike athletes and designers, and a revival of Televised Radio, the platform he launched in partnership with Apple Music.

Chloe Sultan and Mahfouz Sultan, curators of the exhibition and codirectors of the Virgil Abloh Archive, said the exhibit is designed to mirror his creative process, with little distinction between disciplines.

It opens with a pair of Air Jordan 1s, a silver Louis Vuitton Monogram weekender bag, and his Gradient and Efflorescence chairs, next to a wooden bench designed by Chrome Hearts. Hanging nearby is the item of clothing that started it all: a flannel shirt screen-printed with the logo of his first label, Pyrex Vision.

Items from Abloh’s collaborations with brands like Evian, Baccarat, Braun, Ikea and Vitra are displayed alongside ceiling-high shelves stacked with everything from piles of folded T-shirts to bags, traffic cones and his signature industrial belts. Prototypes, turntables, personal correspondence and a replica of a work desk illustrate his creative process.

“We knew we wanted to exhibit a lot of what was his most iconic work in a traditional museological way, but I’d say the beating heart of the exhibition is this more archival section,” said Chloe Sultan. “He didn’t just show the final product. He showed all of the context behind it.”

Abloh’s ambition was to open the doors of the insular world of design to younger generations. In 2020, he entered a partnership with the Fashion Scholarship Fund to launch the Virgil Abloh “Post Modern” Scholarship Fund, a $1 million fund for Black fashion students.

“Virgil cared so much about breaking down barriers to information, sharing his codes, sharing the blueprint for the system of how he worked,” Chloe Sultan explained. “He was always leaving the breadcrumbs for the kids, for the 17-year-old version of himself.”

The items on show were selected from more than 20,000 objects in the archive. Abloh, who began saving his own work as a teenager, kept even the doodles he made on restaurant napkins.

“On the one hand, it’s daunting — the sense that there’s a lot to choose from when you’re trying to filter what would be best in the show — but it’s so special to be able to engage again with the brilliant mind and genius and humor and kindness and generosity of this person that we all miss,” said Chloe Sultan.

Mahfouz Sultan said the selection aims to illustrate how Abloh’s ideas traveled across platforms spanning from conceptual art to pop culture.

“Seeing it all together, you’re able to see that the same chain hanging from a Baccarat glass is also hanging from a Louis Vuitton bag, or you’re able to see construction equipment pop up across three different brands,” he said. “His work needs to be looked at in its totality, rather than each project in isolation.”

He also came up with the idea of reviving Colette, the concept store that was instrumental in launching Abloh’s career in Paris. Sarah Andelman, its former purchasing and image director, wore a replica of the first Abloh-designed T-shirt carried at the boutique in 2008, available for purchase alongside limited-edition merchandise.

This includes the scented candle that was a signature of the original store, which shuttered in 2017, and a reissue of Abloh’s spin on the Braun BC02 alarm clock. Been Trill, Cactus Plant Flea Market, Post Archive Faction, Sterling Ruby’s S.R. Studio. La. Ca. and Travis Scott are among those that contributed designs. 

One of his earliest supporters, Andelman said Abloh’s legacy was in the way he broke down boundaries, working across fashion, footwear, architecture, music, industrial design, painting and sculpture, among others. (The exhibition even includes his foray into jewelry, via necklaces made from diamond-studded gold paper clips.)

“What really resonates with me is this idea that anything is possible. You don’t need a specific background or formal training. You push the doors, and if you’re open, curious and willing to put in the work, you can go really far,” she said.

The exhibition marked an emotional milestone for the designer’s wife, Shannon Abloh, president and chair of the Virgil Abloh Archive, and founder and president of the Virgil Abloh Foundation.

“It’s something we’ve been working on for the last four years, just gathering all of his things into the archive and preserving them in a way that will keep them to be able to share with the world, and to do it in this way in Paris is incredibly gratifying,” she said.

“He was the nucleus of the whole community, and so when we lost him, it was incredibly difficult for all of us, and we’ve been looking for a time and space that felt right for everyone. And in Paris, on his birthday week, in fashion week, it couldn’t be any more perfect,” she added.

Pharrell Williams, Abloh’s successor at Vuitton, and British DJ and producer Benji B were among those who came to pay their respects. Up until the last minute, former collaborators were bringing objects to be included in the show. “We have a friend flying from out of the country with just one pillowcase,” Mahfouz Sultan said.

“That’s been one of the most meaningful parts, just seeing everyone, reconnecting, sharing memories, hugging each other,” Chloe Sultan said. “V was a connector. He was like a field effect where if you were in the room with him, it was a different kind of room, and you can’t recreate that without him here, but bringing everyone back together, I think, is the closest we can get to that.”