Nike Honors Virgil Abloh’s Creative Legacy at ‘The Codes’ Exhibit in New York City
- October 19, 2026
What is it?
Nike and the Virgil Abloh Foundation are presenting “Virgil Abloh: The Codes” at The Shed in New York City, bringing together nearly 1,000 objects that illuminate Abloh’s work, creative process and enduring influence.
How is Nike involved?
The exhibit honors Abloh’s creative legacy in a weeks-long showing that highlights his long-term partnership with Nike and shares design methodologies that were central to his creative identity.
What will visitors experience?
The exhibition spans fashion, footwear, art, architecture, graphic design, music and cultural production, pairing finished works with prototypes, sketches and archival materials.
When are tickets available?
Tickets will be available to the general public beginning October 23. Visit TheShed.org for presale information, tickets and additional details about the exhibition, which runs December 10, 2026, to January 18, 2027.
Nike and the Virgil Abloh Foundation are celebrating the work, ideas, collaborators and enduring legacy of one of the most influential designers of the 21st century, presenting “Virgil Abloh: The Codes” at The Shed in New York City.
Bringing together nearly 1,000 objects, the exhibition offers an expansive look at Abloh’s creative process and the ideas that connected his work across fashion, footwear, art, architecture, graphic design, music and cultural production. Finished works appear alongside prototypes, sketches, archival materials and other objects that reveal a practice grounded in experimentation, collaboration and the reinterpretation of familiar forms.
The exhibition and its related programs are designed to showcase Abloh’s methodological principles, known as his Codes, which are meant to be applicable to any medium, product or space. The Codes made his work, particularly The Ten with Nike, both easily identifiable and translatable.
“As we mark the fifth anniversary of Virgil’s passing, this exhibition is an opportunity to honor his tireless spirit and how he changed the way people think about creativity, collaboration and what is possible,” says Shannon Abloh, Founder, the Virgil Abloh Archive™ and the Virgil Abloh Foundation. “Virgil believed in opening doors and making knowledge accessible, and The Codes brings that spirit forward by sharing his process, his ideas and the extraordinary breadth of his work with new generations. His legacy lives on through the people he inspired and the opportunities we continue to create in his name.”
Curated by Chloe Sultan and Mahfuz Sultan, the presentation extends a developing history of The Codes. Earlier editions in Miami and Paris explored the methodologies behind Abloh’s multidisciplinary practice. The New York City exhibition expands that story through an unprecedented gathering of objects and experiences designed to make Abloh’s creative thinking tangible.
“Virgil understood that design could be both a discipline and an invitation,” says Sultan, also the Director of the Virgil Abloh Archive. “His work revealed the possibilities that emerge when we challenge the boundaries between fields, bring unexpected references into conversation, and make room for many to participate in the creative process. Virgil remains a progenitor of this moment — an undeniable weathervane — and this exhibition offers an opportunity to look closely at The Codes that connected Virgil’s many practices.”
The exhibition will also recreate Abloh’s Paris office at Pont Neuf and feature a dedicated media lab that offers open access to a selection of Abloh’s raw design files. Visitors will be invited to explore The Codes, tools and visual systems underlying his work, approaching them not only as creative artifacts but as starting points for their own creative investigations.
“Bringing nearly 1,000 objects together at The Shed allows us to illuminate the depth of Virgil’s methodology and the relationships between seemingly disparate projects,” says Athiththan Selvendran, Chief Creative Officer, the Virgil Abloh Foundation, and Director, the Virgil Abloh Archive. “This is an opportunity to experience Virgil’s practice as an evolving framework — one that continues to inspire new ways of making, thinking and creating access for others.”
A retail experience co-curated by Justin Saunders, founder of JJJJound, will extend the world of The Codes beyond the galleries through merchandise developed in dialogue with the exhibition. Additional details about the retail collection will be announced in the coming weeks.
A month-long schedule of conversations, performances, workshops and related events will accompany the exhibition, bringing together creative voices from across disciplines. Further programming details will be announced at a later date.
Tickets for “Virgil Abloh: The Codes” will be available to the general public beginning October 23. Visit TheShed.org for presale information, tickets and additional details about the exhibition.