Kanye West ‘being lined up’ to replace the late Virgil Abloh as Louis Vuitton creative director

Kanye West is said to be taking over Virgil Abloh’s role as creative director after the pair discussed the plan shortly before the designer’s death (Picture: Getty Images )

Kanye West could be taking on a prestigious new role as the creative director for Louis Vuitton following the sad death of fashion legend Virgil Abloh, according to new reports.

The rapper has branched out in recent years, from best-selling musician to launching his own clothing line, Yeezy, and even dabbling in politics – short-lived as that was.

Now it seems the Donda rapper could be taking his love of fashion design even further as reports indicate he has been tipped for a prestigious role in world-renowned brand Louis Vuitton.

According to The Sun, Louis Vuitton plans to replace icon Abloh with the musician, 44, who was a close friend of the late designer.

The outlet reports that Kanye and Abloh discussed the rapper taking over the role shortly before Abloh’s death aged 41 last month.

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A source told the outlet: ‘Kanye is devastated about Virgil’s death because they had been friends for years and worked together a lot.

Celebrated fashion designer Abloh died in November after a private battle with cancer (Picture: Reuters)

‘They shared a similar vision and now Kanye feels he owes it to Virgil to continue his work at Louis Vuitton.’

Ye and Abloh had been firm friends for over a decade, first meeting in 2009, and the designer held the role of creative director at Kanye’s own firm, Donda.

The Off-White founder and Louis Vuitton designer died on November 28, after a private two-year battle with cancer.

Devastated Kanye dedicated his Sunday Service to Abloh following the news of his death, and later attended his memorial with ex-wife Kim Kardashian and their daughter, North.

Kanye attended Abloh’s memorial with ex-wife Kim and daughter North (Picture: Getty)

At the memorial, Kanye was seen placing a supportive hand on Abloh’s sister as she delivered a heartfelt eulogy for her beloved brother.

Abloh first sparked his love for fashion when he was attending the Illinois Institute of Technology, while getting his Masters of Architecture, and soon began designing his own T-shirts.

The designer launched his debut company, Pyrex Vision in 2012, and founded his iconic fashion house Off-White in 2013.

Kanye’s sneakers and menswear line, meanwhile, is said to be worth ‘billions’ of dollars.

Metro.co.uk has reached out to reps for Kanye West and Louis Vuitton for comment.

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