Issa Rae was awarded the first-ever Virgil Abloh Award presented by LVMH.
Harlem Fashion Row hosted its 15th Anniversary Style and Awards Show Tuesday, kicking off New York Fashion Week 2022. During the show, the wife of the late Virgil Abloh, Shannon Abloh, unexpectedly arrived to gift Issa Rae with an award.
The “Insecure” star said even though she didn’t know the fashion designer very well, she admired him from afar.
“When I think of him, I think of pure ingenuity. I think about bold breaking of barriers, a path-defining confidence,” Issa said. “And I most appreciate him as a high-fashion doorman because of all the doors that he opened for others.”
She continued, “It was intentionally and through his visibility. Because he existed because he believed in himself because he looked after so many others who looked like him, like us.”
Issa was the first person to receive the award named in honor of the late designer.
“I love to be the first, but I vow as long as I’m working to not to be the last,” she added.
