Bridging the Gap Between Creativity and Money: Why Virgil Abloh's Free Game Is Just What We Needed
- Abbey Villasis
- Feb 19
- 5 min read
Updated: Jul 16
As part of my long-standing initiative to see design, art, and culture more inclusive to young black designers and those coming from non-traditional backgrounds, I wanted to assist in providing the means for them to advance on the road to ownership of their ideas and brands. I am launching this organic platform for widespread access to information and mentorship. The exact notions and tools that I used to formulate my career are open to all…
Virgil Abloh
Before the untimely passing of luxury streetwear designer Virgil Abloh in late 2021, the late founder of Off-White dedicated himself to Free Game, an initiative designed to provide free business education for anyone through an online platform. Abloh's vision fundamentally challenged the fashion industry's reputation as one of the most inaccessible and exclusionary sectors. His commitment to inclusivity took shape through Free Game, an initiative designed to dismantle discriminatory barriers in art and fashion. Even after his passing, his legacy endures. Through this project, he continues to empower non-traditional artists by equipping them with the tools and knowledge to turn their aspirations into reality, something many once deemed impossible.
Does this mean the fashion industry is becoming more inclusive? The short answer is yes, but - to reclaim an old snarky metaphor once used by Miranda Priestly - 'at a glacial pace.' According to the website, Free Game was last updated four years ago. Therefore, if it has been live for at least four years, it raises some questions about whether or not Abloh's legacy has been properly maintained: why has his 'de-gatekeeping' project managed to stay relatively unheard of for the past few years, despite its mission to educate anyone in search of a cost-free business education? This is a very useful tool, but it is not being widely discussed. We should share it and, obviously, keep talking about it. It is this type of gatekeeping from both insiders and outsiders that is not entirely unusual in fashion and other spaces that feed from exclusion.
The positive side is that Abloh's project has really picked up momentum lately and is finally gaining the attention it rightly deserves. Free Game isn't a platform set on 'divulging the secrets' of Abloh's creativity. Instead, it offers a neatly packaged and engaging way to introduce crucial business and design concepts - with a hint of motivational guidance along the way - to artists who aspire to build their own fashion brands from scratch.
It has become almost expected that artists must struggle to earn a living from their work. However, the reality is that some face avoidable barriers, often due to moral reservations about monetising their creativity, a lack of business knowledge, or both. What Abloh achieved was bridging the divide between creativity and commerce. Through Free Game, he built an open-access resource that covers essential topics (such as business, law, and design), giving anyone the tools to start building their own path.
By comparison, Ivey Business School (one of Canada's leading business institutions) charges CAD $25,200 for domestic students and CAD $70,040 for international students for just one year of its Honours Business Administration programme, a combined business and discipline-of-choice degree, before additional expenses. It is widely understood, and not uncommon for students in Canada and many other parts of the world, to pay high fees for their education. While this may seem normalised, it is unfair given the importance placed on having a degree just to secure employment, though that in itself is a conversation for another time. Virgil Abloh believed in people and recognised how simple it can be to teach others to start their own business. He never underestimated the drive and savviness of this generation's creatives. Through his own work, he had already paved the way for others; all that was left was to set things in motion for them to follow in his footsteps.
Generally speaking, business tends to clash with what it means to be an artist, which is why we often see such disparity where the two intersect. In Women and Creativity, Simone de Beauvoir captures the essence of the artist well. Most artists are not typically driven by money or power. Yet, under capitalism, business and art are forced to intersect and become productive in the interest of the creative, if they hope to turn their work into a career. Historically, such a career has often meant adopting a dreary, minimalistic standard of living.
'There is a very great artist whom I knew well and whom I deeply admire that you surely are familiar with: his name is Giacometti. His manner of living was absolutely extraordinary. Even when he earned a lot of money, he was so indifferent to material contingencies that he lived in a sort of shack that leaked on rainy days; he would collect the water in bowls which themselves had holes, so water ran on the floor and he couldn't have cared less. He had a tiny, uncomfortable studio where he would work all night long, sleeping whenever he felt like it: at five or six o'clock in the morning or at noon. He would toss on any old thing for clothes, wearing a string for a belt to hold up his pants, and his hands covered with plaster…' (de Beauvoir 1966)
Beauvoir's anecdote may also explain why successful people often acquire and surround themselves with art. Money and art represent opposing human needs. We need money to afford to live in society - a social construct - but art precedes us, bonds us, and is divinely inspired (take nature, for example). Therefore, within the confines of our economy, money becomes more of a skill, while art remains a privilege. By levelling the playing field, Abloh's initiative helps open this privilege to more talented, equally deserving individuals. As Art, alienation, and revolution put it, ''The bourgeois like to think that they alone are born with the right to dominate culture. But every human being has the potential to appreciate the arts, and to excel in all of them.'
For a long time, the goal for most artists has not been simply to endure hardship or accept an uncomfortable existence. Today, there is more money circulating than ever before, along with far greater opportunities. The aspiration in today's world (one I believe many artists share) is to earn enough not just to survive but to thrive, allowing art to become a sustainable occupation. Of course, the words "art" and "flourishing" carry deeply personal meanings for each individual. Free Game provides both the tools and the confidence to become the artists we so very desire by opening pathways for anyone, regardless of origin, to find financial stability through their practice and fully realise their ambitions, ushering in a new era for fashion designers and other forms of artists.
Free Game: https://free-game.virgilabloh.com/
Written and Edited by
Abbey Villasis, Co-Fashion Editor
Comments