Fashion Revolution: Virgil Abloh The distinctive features that made him possible to turn a lifestyle into a successful brand
Virgil Abloh: architect, engineer, graphic artist, affirmed DJ, Kanye West right-hand man, creative director of OFF-WHITE and devourer of culture. Virgil Abloh is a multifaceted character.
Born in 1980, son of Ghanaian immigrants, his father runs a company of paints and the mother is a seamstress, the boy grew up in Rockford, Illinois, obsessed with skateboarding, hip-hop culture, streetwear, Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. He attended Catholic high school, then the University of Wisconsin where he graduated in civil engineering and eventually completed a masterís degree in architecture. His life seems programmed and Virgil intended for a regular job in an office, when in 2002, at the age of 22, leaves his role as a project manager in an architecture firm to become creative director of Kanye West and his think tank line Donda.
It is the beginning of a new life.
For the Atlanta rapper, the guy runs tours, performance, deals with artwork and merchandise, is a friend, right arm, so much to follow him in an internship at Fendi.
Along with West he grows, develops its potential, absorbs creativity and rethinks it to his own codes until it becomes Pyrex Vision in 2012. Abloh has no idea how to make a dress, does not know anyone who knows how to cut and sew, all he has is a vision, a fashion idea, and a desire to impose his own identity. The only thing he can do is get a stock of Ralph Lauren t-shirts or Champion's flannels, customize them with his own name and the number 23, a tribute to Michael Jordan, and sell them at $ 550. The project raises numerous criticisms and an equal amount of hype, but ends in a few months, laying the foundations for OFF-WHITE, a brand new Milan-based brand launched in September 2013.
REVOLUTION
According to the definition of its founder
"Off-White is a blurring together of street culture and a refined aesthetic. It's a new luxury, a sort of casual luxury. It's a brand that takes its cues from the present and longs for uniqueness".
OFF-WHITE means sweatshirts, tees, leather jackets, ripped jeans and sneakers inspirations ranging from hip-hop culture to Martha Stewart, from the works of Caravaggio to Raf Simons, from Supreme to Mies van der Rohe. The brand's codes? Basic garments, emphasis on distinctive graphics, architectural approach, logo with diagonal stripes in the foreground and unmistakable "white" writing.
"I love graphics, and I wear plain tees all the time. So all that is OFF-WHITE: post-Tumblr, post-street style, post-Tommy Ton documenting outfits".
Virgil says that all this is part of his label.
The success is immediately insane: nearly two million followers on Instagram and more than seven hundred thousand on the personal profile; acclaimed shows part of the official program of the fashion week in Paris; guest star last edition of Pitti Uomo; hype and stellar sales; LVMH Prize finalist in 2015; filling social networks, magazines and blogs and became part of the wardrobe of a large number of people.
Virgil Abloh has transformed his lifestyle into a successful brand, realizing that today hoodie is the new men's jacket, Instagram, and other social networks are a key element for a contemporary fashion brand, as is equally vital attention to the road and its style.
#1 Street Culture
"I see fashion as art. It is a medium. And collaborations are the exciting part of creativity".
Abloh told this several times, highlighting how to collaborate with people and brands bringing a new perspective to his world, to help think differently, expand the repertoire and not only stimulate it, but also an excellent method to modernize the look of a brand.
Perhaps this is why the number of OFF-WHITE partnerships is multiplying continuously, so far as to become part of its DNA: over the years, Abloh worked with artists such as Nick Knight, Riccardo Tisci, Kim Jones, Takashi Murakami, Olivier Rousteing, Giuseppe Zanotti or Silvia Venturini from Fendi and labeled Nike, Ikea, Kith NYC, Levi's, Vans, Vlone, SSENSE, Dover Street Market, Umbro, Moncler.
