Rarely am I star-struck—but as a young fashion student, this week’s guest loomed large in my consciousness. Robin Givhan is a Pulitzer Prize–winning fashion critic and, quite simply, the gold standard. Her work has shaped how we understand clothing not as decoration, but as a lens through politics, race, labor, aspiration, and identity.

Her latest book, Make It Ours: Crashing the Gate of Culture with Virgil Abloh, becomes a jumping-off point for a conversation I’ve long wanted to have: why Virgil Abloh resonated so profoundly—even for those of us who didn’t necessarily love the clothes themselves. We talk about symbolism versus craft, legacy, and how desire in fashion is framed differently depending on who’s doing the wanting—why men are seen as strategic and in control, while women are labeled obsessive or irrational. It’s a thoughtful, clarifying, and quietly revelatory conversation about power, taste, and cultural permission.