Virgil Abloh and Mercedes-Benz donate $160K towards scholarship for Black creatives
Virgil Abloh created a $1 million scholarship for Black creatives earlier this year.
Fashion trailblazer Virgil Abloh and luxury car company Mercedes-Benz announced in September that a one-of-a-kind G-Class would be sold at auction with Sotheby’s as part of their collaboration, Project Geländewagen.
On Oct. 2, the car was sold for $160,000 in the auction house’s Contemporary Curated collection and will be donated to Abloh’s Post-Modern Scholarship Fund. The scholarship was launched in July to assist emerging fashion talent who are of Black, African-American or African descent.
“A benefit of this uprising is that we are paying attention to systemic problems. We can’t move on.” Abloh said of his decision to start the scholarship fund. “It’s time for us not to make this industry about fashion, but about people. I’ve been pouring that into my own work. I’m looking at this as a call to action for me to take on more challenges that don’t only end up on the runway, but that end up changing people’s lives.”
As the pandemic looms on and Americans march the streets for social justice, Abloh and Benz were “compelled to help support the arts and the international creative community at a critical time.”
“Now more than ever those of us who have voices and have opened doors need to keep them open, and make sure that the conversation includes the youth,” Abloh said via press release. “This is what we’re working to achieve through my Post Modern Scholarship fund. Everything that I’ve done in my career has been to pave the way for the next generation, and now with the help of Mercedes-Benz we’re able to take that one step further.”
Also during the auction, three works that were chosen by Abloh and Mercedes-Benz collaborative partner Gordon Wagener for the Contemporary Curated collection were sold. Wagner opted for art by Kenneth Noland, Helen Frankenthaler, and Gerhard Richter, while Virgil Abloh handpicked Black artists Barkley L. Hendricks, Kerry James Marshall and Rashid Johnson.