Off-White | The Eminent Italian Luxury Label 

Off-White is an opulent fashion label with its headquarters in Milan, Italy. Virgil Abloh founded the brand in 2012. He was one of the most prominent fashion designers in the world. With Off-White, Virgil created a cult following. The brand has dominated the luxury streetwear division in the world of fashion since its official launch in 2013. Within five years of launching, Off-White gained the title of “World’s Hottest Brand” by growing progressively across the globe. The brand has more than 10 million followers on social media. Its unconventional designs and accessibility make it one of the decade’s most popular and profitable brands. 

About

Off-White is a luxury streetwear brand offering clothing, eyewear, footwear, and homeware. It began with Virgil Abloh’s vision of filling the market gap with something unmatchable. A-list celebrities like Kanye West, Rihanna, Hailey Baldwin Bieber, Travis Scott, Beyoncé, Drake, Jay-Z, and Kylie Jenner have endorsed the brand. The brand’s founder, Virgil Abloh, succumbed to cancer in 2021. However, through Off-White, his legacy continues to harness the world of fashion by turning Off-White into a multi-billion dollar company. 

Founder

On the 30th of September 1980, Virgil Abloh was born in Rockford, Illinois. His parents had immigrated from Ghana, West Africa. Virgil’s mother was a dressmaker, and his father was a manager in a paint company. From an early age, he learned how to sew clothes from his mother. For schooling, he attended Boylan Catholic High School, the only Catholic school in Rockford. In 1998, after completing high school studies, Virgil joined the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He pursued civil engineering at the university. After earning a Bachelor’s degree of Science in civil engineering, Virgil moved to Chicago. In Chicago, he attended the Illinois Institute of Technology. He was studying architecture at the institute. While studying, he came across Rem Koolhaas. Rem was a renowned Dutch architect who had worked with Prada for its runway collections. 

Rem Koolhaas was working on a building at IIT’s campus. Virgil was highly impressed with Rem’s way of working. Through Rem, Virgil was inclined to fashion. Consequently, he started designing t-shirts and writing fashion blogs. On one occasion, Virgil was at a Chicago print shop. He was working on his designs. Coincidentally, he met rapper Kanye West at the print shop. The two became friends, and Kanye asked Virgil to work on his upcoming merchandise.

In 2006, after receiving a Master of Architecture degree, Kanye and Virgil interned at Fendi together. The Fendi internship took place in Rome, Italy. In 2010, after the internship, the duo officially began a collaborative business. Virgil started working at Kanye’s creative agency, Donda. In 2011, he designed the cover art for Jay-Z and Kanye’s collaborative studio album, Watch The Throne. For cover art, he worked with Italian fashion designer Riccardo Tisci. The duo received a Grammy nomination for the cover art. 

Beginning of Off-White

In 2012, Virgil launched Pyrex Vision. A highly controversial fashion label. Pyrex Vision created a lot of buzz in the fashion industry. Virgil was selling Ralph Lauren flannels and Champions plain tees by screen printing his designs. That was not the only issue. He was selling it for more than $500. The exciting part is that people went gaga over Virgil’s designs and celebrities embraced Pyrex Vision wholeheartedly. However, it didn’t last long. Due to the controversies, he decided to rebrand Pyrex Vision. As a result, Off-White entered the world of fashion. Virgil named the brand off-white to represent the grey between the colors black and white. In 2013, Off-White launched its first collection, “Youth Will Always Win.” The collection represented a common ground for luxury apparel and streetwear. The following year, Virgil launched a womenswear line. 

At the Paris Fashion Week 2014, Off-White’s womenswear line garnered the attention of many prestigious fashion moguls. Through the collection, Virgil became a part of the fashion industry. Off-White started gaining recognition. Soon many celebrities started endorsing the brand. In 2016, the brand established its first concept store in Tokyo, Japan. The store became highly popular. It was situated in a cluster of luxury boutiques. 

2017: The Year of Unprecedented Success

2017 was a massive year for Off-White. The brand collaborated with fashion giants like Levi’s, Jimmy Choo, Warby Parker, Ikea, Umbro, Kith, Lil Uzi Vert, Chrome Hearts, Timberland, Selfridges, and the most prominent shoe brand on the planet, Nike. The Nike X Off-White collaboration is one of the most significant collaborations in the history of sneakers. The legendary shoe brand and iconic fashion label partnered to create “The Ten.” Nike and Abloh re-released the brand’s most popular shoes with Virgil’s creative interest. To date, the Nike X Off White collection is the most sought-after range of sneakers in the fashion world. It is undoubtedly one of fashion history’s most extensive, exorbitant, and distinctive collaborations. 

2018-Present

In 2018, Off-White became the top brand in the world. It surpassed the popularity of fashion giants like Gucci, Prada, and Balenciaga. The following year, online retailer Farfetch purchased Off-White’s parent organization, New Guards. As a result, Virgil no longer owned Off-White. However, the brand was still Virgil’s trademark. Things were going smoothly, and Off-White grew progressively under Virgil’s leadership. But in 2021, an unimaginable incident took place. Virgil passed away after fighting a two-year battle with cancer. The world was in shock. The fashion industry’s beloved designer was no more. As of 2022, Off-White continues to carry Virgil’s legacy by working on the ideas that he left behind. 

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