Streetwear clothes are an emerging trend in the fashion industry. According to the history standarts, the first fashion brands dedicated to streetwear were created only recently (about ten years ago). One such brand is Off-White, founded by businessman Abloh Virgil in 2013. The Italian fashion house produces luxury clothing and specializes in stepping out of the confines of black and white.
Italy has always been known for its richness in the fashion world: high quality clothes dictate the fashion rules for other fashion designers and designers. Off-White was born in Milan as a brand outside the traditional concepts of streetwear. The first Off-White show was held in Paris in 2014. The fashion week show featured models of luxury women’s clothing. The collections won acclaim from fashion houses and were finalists for the LVMH award. According to the creator, the clothes embodied people’s desire to show off and push social boundaries.
Off-White’s success has been based on collaborations with many famous brands: Jimmy Choo, Louis Vuitton, Dr. Martens, Levi’s, and many others. In 2020, the company collaborated with brands such as Evian and Nike, introducing the Air Jordan line of trainers. Abloh’s close collaboration with Louis Vuitton led to borrowing the brand’s ideas and introducing them in the 2020-2021 autumn/winter collection. Critics have noted the collection as a challenge to society’s social problems and the necessity to solve them.
Off-White’s success is now cemented by collaborations with well-known fashion houses, Abloh Virgil’s own social activism (such as creating a scholarship fund for black students) and celebrities’ love of the brand. The development of streetwear brands is in line with society’s contemporary aspirations of expressing itself. The Off-White brand becomes the creator’s statement about the need to hear community because these people are the future, including the fashion houses.