Virgil Abloh, through his brand Off-White and his tenure as artistic director of Louis Vuitton's menswear, elevated denim to new heights in high fashion, incorporating it into runway collections that blended streetwear with luxury. Abloh's designs, which often featured deconstructed denim, industrial details, and ironic branding, challenged traditional notions of luxury and democratized fashion. His work cemented denim's status as a canvas for artistic expression and cultural commentary.

Abloh's high-fashion denim designs, which often incorporated text and quotation marks, directly engaged with the visual language of poetry and critique. His use of denim as a medium for social and political commentary resonated with contemporary poets who explore the intersections of fashion, race, and identity. The elevation of denim to luxury status also reflected the blurring of boundaries between high and low culture that has been a central concern of postmodern and contemporary poetry.