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Virgil Abloh: Figures of Speech Special Edition Hardcover – October 16, 2019

by Michael Darling (Editor), Rem Koolhaas (Contributor), Taiye Selasi (Contributor),

240 ratings

in Individual Artist Monographs

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One of The New York Times Best Entertaiment Gifts of 2019
New York Magazine's Most Giftable Coffee-Table Books of 2019
Chicago Tribune's Best Gift Books of 2019

From street fashion to high culture, the work of Virgil Abloh, a celebrated multihyphenate artist, is showcased in this book.

For Abloh, the museum catalogue is another opportunity to "question everything." This monograph, produced in close collaboration with the artist himself, explores his creative output in a three-books-in-one format. The catalogue section offers an overview of Abloh's interdisciplinary practice by Michael Darling and features essays and interviews with key voices in art, fashion, design, and architecture, including Taiye Selasi, Lou Stoppard, Michael Rock, Samir Bantal, Rem Koolhaas, and Anja Aronowsky Cronberg. In the archives section, more than 1,800 never-before-seen images pulled from the artist's personal files reveal the remarkable breadth of his influences and collaborations. And the index cross references the catalogue plates--Abloh's works--with his projects and process, using a vocabulary of themes developed by Abloh. It comes in a cloth slipcase with "Personal Copy" silkscreened on the book fore edge, a measuring tape ribbon marker, and a flexi disc printed with a Juergen Teller photo that includes a recording of Virgil Abloh discussing his inspirations. This book is designed with Swiss binding. When opened the front cover lays completely flat and is not attached to the front pages of the book. The binding also intentionally exposes the spine of the bound book and the raw boards used for the case (cover).

Published with Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago

Print length

496 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Prestel
Publication date

October 16, 2019
Dimensions

9.63 x 2.25 x 12.69 inches
ISBN-10

3791359002
ISBN-13

978-3791359007
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"The show’s hefty, excellent catalog embraces this spirit, deploying a titillating level of detail."–The New York Times

"When Virgil Abloh breathes, his CO2 is practically up on eBay the next day — so we imagine his new book, Figures of Speech... won’t be long for this world." –New York Magazine

"The work of Off-White designer Virgil Abloh is documented in this stylish, special edition book that captures everything from street culture to high fashion."—Paper

"Figures of Speech is packed with 1,932 images and a number of essays which discuss race, contemporary art history, streetwear and more. Altogether, the Prestel-produced book spans 496 pages and features a fittingly minimalist hardback cover."–HypeBeast

"...the object that is really worth coveting is the book. More than a simple catalog it’s a 500 page User’s Manual to his career." –Core77

“Expect it to fly off the shelves like freshly baked cookies” —Buro

“Designer and creative director Virgil Abloh has a new coffee table book you'll want to make space for in your living room. A particularly cool addition to your coffee table or bookshelf..." –AIROWS

About the Author

MICHAEL DARLING is James W. Alsdorf Chief Curator at the MCA Chicago.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Prestel (October 16, 2019)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 496 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 3791359002
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-3791359007
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6.46 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.63 x 2.25 x 12.69 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,194 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1 in Furniture Design (Books)
- #1 in Individual Artist Monographs
- #2 in Collections, Catalogs & Exhibitions

Customer Reviews:
240 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		91%
4 star		4%
3 star		4%
2 star 0% (0%)		0%
1 star		1%

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l sosa

“OFF-WHY”

Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2019

Verified Purchase

As a fellow designer I marvel at the work of Virgil, always and still a fan. I can emphasize my tiffs with the book but I’ll keep it “SHORT AND SWEET”.... the quality of this book is mid, you’d think a designer would factor in flaws before production. The biggest flaw, the tape measure, impractical and actually affects the book. It has to uncomfortably be shut closed, but it’s on brand. Save the coins and buy the regular edition if you really wanna see what’s inside.

23 people found this helpful

Helpful

J. M. Newcomb

Off Amazing

Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2019

Verified Purchase

I am an aspiring texture designer, and this is what I plan to study when I head to college. I wanted to get this book, Virgil Abloh: Figures of Speech, so that I could learn how he came to such great success as a designer through his creation of Pyrex and Off White. This book shows tons of his released and unreleased artwork. You can find pictures of ‘The Ten’ which are the ten shoes that Virgil collaborated with Nike with to change the game of high fashion. These shoes take the Jordan 1 model and the Air Force 1, deconstructing them, and turning them into masterpieces. Virgil is a one of the kind creators.
The book also features his signature quotations on the side which says, “Personal Copy” which adds the true Virgil touch to the book. It comes in a very protective case which will keep your copy safe from dust, along with wear and tear of the corners. One of the most unique parts of the book is this design ruler that he has placed in the book to resemble a cloth bookmark. It ties the whole book together showing you that it is truly meant for designers.
In 3rd section of the book you can see all of the furniture that Virgil has created with IKEA for the whole new age scene. They are very abstract and unique, nothing like I have ever seen before. It ranges from different arrangements of mirrors to chairs and tables. One of his chairs looks like any other wooden chair, but one of the legs has been cut off near the bottom inch or so and has been replaced with a wooden wedge. In the book, Virgil elaborates on how it is so amazing that a wobbly chair can simply be fixed with a tiny wooden wedge. I don’t have much appreciation for his furniture designs, but every time he does seem to drop a release people go bananas over it no matter what it is.
In this book it shows much more than just his clothing that he has designed. The book includes more than 1900 pictures, a number of essays that discuss race, his art history, streetwear designs, and high fashion designs alike. You can find his designs for the stores he has made for his products and why he chose each abstract layout. The book is truly amazing and worth the money. I plan to read the whole book in the week to come. The book is truly worth the buy if you are a fan of Virgil’s work.

4 people found this helpful

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Kyle William

Incredible book from an incredible designer

Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2019

Verified Purchase

Pre-order too a while to ship, but once it arrived I was extremely happy with the special edition of this book. Tremendous amount of Virgil's content to pour over and a great window into the mind of one of the most important designers of a generation.

3 people found this helpful

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Kamille A McCormick

No slip cover

Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2019

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Nice but didn’t come with the slip cover.

3 people found this helpful

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jackson

its cool

Reviewed in the United States on November 27, 2019

Verified Purchase

3 stars because took 4 months to get it when I was promised 10 days

3 people found this helpful

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Matt stone

Very Fascinating Book

Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2021

Verified Purchase

This book is clearly made of high quality material and the content inside was truly breathtaking. I purchased this because I am a big fan of Virgil and love his work. For the price at hand, it may seem like a little much but this is the kind of item I plan to have on my book shelf for years to come!

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Asia Paige

Virgil has done it again!

Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2020

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I love all of virgils work! This book goes into detail about his artistic expressions! Also has a hidden vinyl record on one of the pages!

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Amazon Customer

bookmark damages pages

Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2021

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tape measure/bookmark poorly design and damages the pages it’s separating.

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Top reviews from other countries

picky fella

exciting book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 20, 2020

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a really exciting book. impeccable production. remarkable design. a really beautiful book.

2 people found this helpful

Isabelle Angele

Beautiful book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 20, 2021

Verified Purchase

Such a good product – the books feels amazing and looks amazing. A lot of the content is just photos of some old prototypes, so maybe not the best read but it looks fabulous on my bookcase and there’s still some little nuggets in there.

millie

Great book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 25, 2020

Verified Purchase

Son loved this gift been wanting this book for ages

Dan Wings

Nice book on his work

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 28, 2019

Verified Purchase

Good book and if you really want the cover and extra details then go for the limited version but the normal one is very well made and feels just like it. Just no hard box sleeve and other small details.

Arron Smith

Worth a read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 18, 2020

Verified Purchase

Great book from a true inspiration

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Virgil Abloh: Figures of Speech Special Edition Hardcover – October 16, 2019

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