White clothing brand. The history of the Off-White brand. Off-White's DNA is a compromise between haute couture and streetwear

Whether you want to follow street fashion or not, it's hard not to know about the Off-White brand right now. The story began with Virgil's unique vision and soon spread throughout the world.

Brand founder

(read as Of-White) is interesting, but its designer is even more interesting. Founded by American boyfriend Virgil Abloh, the Milan-based label has opened showrooms in 15 locations worldwide since 2013 and retained a stellar lineup of customers. With a master's degree in architecture, who would have thought Abloh's sharp turn towards designing premium streetwear could be so successful?

Prior to running the brand, Abloh previously worked as a streetwear designer called Pyrex Vision, which many celebrities have welcomed with open arms. However, as he later faced controversy over the reuse and resale of Ralph Lauren's flannel at an astronomical price, he abandoned the company. Despite the criticism, he soon returned with new ambitions, and the history of OFF-WHITE began.

Not only does he own a clothing brand, but the American entrepreneur is also involved in many other ventures, including #BEEN #TRILL. He is a DJ and director who presented the music video for rapper Lil Uzi Vert last year. And most importantly, he is known as the creative director of the company. (Kanye West). Abloh is an important figure in the street and music scene.

But what the artist does with OFF-WHITE is something - he cultivates a kind of avant-garde and iconic clothing that combines street culture with premium style, for example, achieving harmony between the two extremes. The brand itself has a self-explanatory name - it is defined as a zone of gray between black and white. Abloh is experimenting with a classic silhouette in a new direction that pleases the younger generation.

Industrial Belt

Whenever we see street projects, Abloh comes to our mind. Obviously, the zebra pattern known as the diagonal spray and the nickname "WHITE" are synonymous with the brand. However, speaking of the lettering, the 2m yellow and black industrial buckle belt is also very edgy and iconic. It was so long that the company had to release a special video guide on how to wear it correctly.

In recent years, Abloh began to write on everything in the form of a "quote." He wrote "SHOELACES" on the laces, engraved "SCULPTURE" on the bag he collaborated with the giant IKEA with, and even his website, WEBITE. Abloh believes that everything in quotation marks remains vague, that there is always room for questions. This concept fits very well with the ideology of the brand, giving people the space to unleash their own creativity.

Original lettering on laces from Abloh

For example, in the brand's latest collection, Mens Pre-Fall 2018, Abloh claims there is no rule on how to dress. This is a deconstructive attitude and a question to the traditions of the fashion industry.

2018 Off-White Men's Collection

Although Abloh is the sole designer for his brand, he rarely works alone to maintain superior results. Over the years, his partnerships with the likes of Moncler have kept the Milan brand at the center of streetwear. These collaborations truly reflect the brand's spirit, again paying homage to the classic silhouette with its own Off-White aesthetic. We've seen Abloh's work using mismatched flowers, as well as a capsule collaboration with Made & Crafted. While with the 'The Ten' collection, the artist deconstructs ten classic sneakers with a dramatic change in their look, including the Air Max 97 and Air Jordan 1. The latest sneaker deservedly won the 'Sneakers of the year' award.

Collaboration The 10

Off-White is not a very popular street brand and its history is quite simple. There is nothing very interesting in it, because he is still young. It was founded by designer Virgil Abloh, Kanye West's chief stylist.

Summary:

Start

Virgil graduated from the institute with a degree in architecture and after that immediately got a job as creative director of Kanye West. This was in 2002, and he is still in this position.

In his interview, he emphasized that all his life he wanted to create something, it didn't have to be clothes - anything. Initially, he was involved in organizing concert tours, then switched to work as a DJ, and only then all this led him to fashion.

Its first brand was called Pyrex Vision, but then it changed its name to Off-White. The first thing he did was buy polo shirts from Ralph Lauren and print his prints on them. On the Internet, he decided to sell them for $ 550. When the origins were revealed, the public was a little outraged, but the collection was quickly sold out anyway.

After that, it was decided to engage in full creation of their own things, it was at this moment that the brand was renamed.

Development

Since Abloh is a good architect, he decided to make all the lines in his clothes perfectly straight. This is why the classic signature diagonal stripe print was developed. While creating men's clothing, he adheres to the street style, while women's clothing is more of a high style.

Since Abloh is a popular designer, his development was simple, because all fashion connoisseurs knew his name. The first exhibition was organized in Florence, and Kanye West came to it. This, of course, caused a lot of excitement and demand from buyers.

Abloh consulted on clothing for A $ AP Rocky, so, as you can imagine, he is a very famous person. Photographers and various magazines spoke well about Off-White's stuff and the result was immediate.

The founder himself claims that the brand's job is to get people to do something now. The fact is that people are not choosing a specific brand now - they are choosing a lifestyle that suits them, which is already behind some brand. He also notes that all the owners of clothing of this brand can be called users of the social network.

Clothes prices

Yes, this is far from a cheap brand, it is much more expensive than brands that are considered expensive in our country. But, as you understood, these clothes are not created by the last person in the fashion world, and therefore the bending of the price tag is justified here.

Here are some examples of things and their cost, let's start small:

Socks - from 4,000 rubles;
Cap - from 7,000 rubles;
T-shirt - from 15,000 rubles;
Shorts - from 18,000 rubles;
Sweatshirt - 20,000 rubles.

The clothes of this brand are suitable for almost everyone, but not for everyone they are suitable for the price. Therefore, in any case, we recommend this brand to you, since the quality, uniqueness and exclusivity are at the level, but only if you have enough funds to buy it.

Video

Off-White's office and production facility is not located in hometown Virgila - Chicago - and not in New York, but in Milan. The designer, for whom it was important to introduce street culture into the DNA of his own brand, prioritizes high-quality Italian fabrics.

8. Instagram

Virgil Abloh would hardly count how many hours a day he devotes to time social networks: Instagram Abloh considers one of his main working tools. In an interview, the designer has repeatedly said that he is even ready to find new employees there - it is enough to study their profiles. By the way, dedicated to the preparation for the show of the spring-summer 2018 collection at the 92nd Pitti Uomo exhibition, you can see how Abloh practically does not let go of the phone from his hands.

9. Rating

At the end of 2017, the Off-White brand celebrated only four years since its foundation, but has already ended up in the top three most popular brands in the Business of Fashion ranking - next to Gucci and Balenciaga. It might seem like the “newbies are lucky” rule has worked, but it's not a matter of luck. Per short term Thanks to social media, the support of influencers like Kanye or A $ AP Rocky, and a clear concept of combining streetwear with Haute Couture, Off-White has become an object of desire all over the world, so the brand has easily bypassed many other fashion houses around the corner.

Off-White's story began in 2013 when Virgil Abloh left Kanye West's team to lead his own brand. The creator of the brand studied to be an architect and an engineer - hence the love for straight lines, clear geometry of a suit or deconstruction of a silhouette. Off-White print - two crossed diagonal arrows. Abloh was keen on streetwear trends and cleverly dissected streetwear. He started with the release of shirts and sweatshirts with designer prints. A year later, the line has grown into a successful brand.

Off-White's DNA is a compromise between haute couture and streetwear