I found it very difficult
to approach writing this
story for someone so ex-
ceedingly self-aware of
his position in our cur-
rent culture that deliv-
ers eloquent lectures,
holds panel discussions
that clearly outline his
approach to design, and
is able to describe his
work in the context of
preexisting and current
culture. In plain words,
Virgil is hyper-conscious
of all that he is doing
and why it’s effective-
ly met with high praise.
With that said, let me
share with you my ex-
perience with Virgil. For
weeks I hopped from
cafe to cafe, hoping the
change of scenery would
inspire me, but I was
stuck. Growing up an ad-
mitted “hypebeast,” at-
tempting to comment
upon Virgil’s achieve-
ments in the past year –
the countless ways he has
impacted this culture I’ve
grown up on – seemed
to be a task for which I
felt slightly under-qual-
ified. But on this fated
Sunday morning, days
before deadline, it came
rushing to me. I tum-
bled out of the shower,
grabbed my iPhone off
the edge of sink, and
frantically mashed away
on the Notes app – all the
while soaking wet, drip-
ping still-soapy water
on the bathroom tiles.
Virgil is not this design
god that the world thinks
he is – at least, he doesn’t
think he is. He thinks he’s
just a messenger in the
grand scheme of things,
an assistant participat-
ing within a larger move-
ment. Maybe it’s because
of his 3% rule: never taking
a design more than 3%
from its original form.
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He doesn’t have to – he’s
fine with leaving a design
the way it is and has a
healthy respect for the
beauty of something in
its pure form. Much in the
same vein, we don’t need
to fit his story into some
grand-notion journalistic
endeavor – his story tells
itself, and we’re simply
taking our due turn
in being the assistant.
At his Harvard lecture,
he explained his “3% ap-
proach,” alongside his
method of completing
just 70% of his projects
before moving to the next
project, allowing him to
work on a million projects
at once. Throughout the
day, I watch Virgil come in
and out of engagement
with photographers, styl-
ists, PR people, galler-
ist, friends, myself, so on
and so forth. Each time I
asked Virgil a question,
he’d listen, acknowledge
and respond to it, while
concurrent carrying on
his separate conversation
on WhatsApp. While this
may seem to be counter-
intuitive to many, and bor-
derline offensive to some,
nothing can be said of Vir-
gil’s actions because he
always delivers, in every
single situation – wheth-
er it be his collaborations
with Jimmy Choo or his
collection in conjunction
with IKEA – something
truly unique and yet uni-
versally praised almost
always comes from it.