There are few greater accolades for a fashion designer than to be made the subject of a museum exhibition. If nothing else, it represents acceptance into a community that tends to regard the design of clothes as something rather frivolous. In his program notes for “Figures Of Speech”, an upcoming exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) in Chicago, chief curator Mr Michael Darling had this to say of its subject, Mr Virgil Abloh: “When taken out of the buzzy, frothy context of luxury fashion[…] a very measured vision emerges.”

Mr Abloh’s career to date has certainly seen its share of buzz and froth. As the artistic director of Louis Vuitton’s menswear division, he presides over one of the most dominant forces in the luxury fashion industry; as the founder of Off-White, he is one of the loudest and most compelling voices in contemporary streetwear. But – and this is perhaps what makes him worthy of recognition in the eyes of the art world – you wouldn’t necessarily describe him as a fashion designer. Certainly not just a fashion designer, anyway. That epithet, however fitting, only goes so far to describing one of this generation’s most creative minds.

MCA’s exhibition, which opens this weekend and runs until 22 September, promises to do a better job. It breaks down Mr Abloh’s career into seven areas, from his early work with Been Trill, Hood By Air and Pyrex Vision, the streetwear labels that laid the foundations for Off-White, to his prolific output as a DJ, furniture designer and installation artist. Alongside areas such as “Fashion”, “Music” and “Design”, which divide his body of work into broad categories, there are others that take a more nuanced approach. “Intermezzo” is dedicated to Mr Abloh’s design methodology, a process he has compared to the creation of prototypes, while “Black Gaze” explores his work from a black cultural perspective. (The latter section includes dresses worn by Beyoncé and Ms Serena Williams.)

What emerges is an image of a 21st-century Renaissance man and, admittedly, a workaholic. Certainly, putting all of Mr Abloh’s work in one place – in this case, an immersive space designed by Mr Samir Bantal, a director at Mr Rem Koolhaas’ architectural agency, AMO – underlines the sheer volume of his creative output. But it reveals a remarkable clarity and consistency of vision, too. Mr Abloh’s signature deconstructivist style can be seen on everything from his 2013 work on the album artwork for Mr Kanye West’s Yeezus to his 2019 collaboration with Ikea (which, in true Mr Abloh style, is already reselling for three times its retail price online, despite having yet to be released).

Virgil Abloh: “Figures Of Speech” opens this Saturday 10 June at the MCA Chicago before embarking on a North American tour that takes in Atlanta, Boston and Brooklyn. Trust us: you’ll never look at your Off-White sneakers the same way again.