Kanye West & Virgil Abloh Both Show Off Their Unreleased Sneaker Designs in Chicago

Kanye West and Virgil Abloh have been close pals for years. And yesterday, Abloh flaunted their friendship with an Instagram post showing them at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago.

Both the Off-White creative director and ‘Ye claim the Windy City as their hometown. Abloh has a new exhibit there, titled “Figures of Speech,” which opens tomorrow (it seems he gave his longtime bud an early look). It’s the first solo museum exhibition for Abloh, who is also the Louis Vuitton men’s artistic director.

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In Abloh’s Instagram image, both men wear sneakers of their own design — and of course, neither of them are available on the retail market yet. Abloh wears his Nike Air Force 1 ’07 Virgil Abloh x MCA, which will be dropping on Frenzy and the Nike SNKRS app in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, West, who celebrated his birthday yesterday, shows off a pair of Yeezy basketball sneakers — a style that has yet to drop but has been rumored since last year. The “Jesus Walks” rapper teamed the kicks with a black sweatsuit for a casual, comfy look.

Although the duo share the Chicago connection, they didn’t meet in the city. The pair first became acquainted in 2009, when they were interns at Italian luxury fashion house Fendi. Although West was already a big-name rapper at the time, he’s since made waves with his buzzy Yeezy brand. At the same time, Abloh’s popularity has soared in recent years due to the success of his Off-White label.

Another thing Abloh and West have in common? FN Achievement Awards for Shoe of the Year. Abloh won in 2017 for his take on the Air Jordan 1, part of his “The Ten” collection with Nike. Meanwhile, West nabbed the honor in 2015 for his Adidas Yeezy Boost.

Below, watch celebrity highlights from the FNAAs.

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