Horne 1

Sydney Horne

Professor Clark

English 1111

27 October 2022

The Creative Mind Behind Off-White

Off White x Air Jordan 1s from 2018

“Air Jordan 1 High OG x Off White CHICAGO'.” Ibuysneakers, https://ibuysneakers.com/producto/nike-air-jordan-

1-low-white-wolf-grey/.

To the untrained eye, these may just look like another pair of Nike Air Jordans.

However, any sneakerhead would recognize these as one of the most exclusive pairs of shoes on

the market. The beautiful Chicago red tips and eye stays contrast heavily with the white vamps
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and midsoles to make these kicks a statement piece. With bright blue stitching upholding the

deconstructed swoosh, “AIR” branding, and the bright red zip tie attached to the

“SHOELACES”, these shoes have a market price of up to $20,000. These are Off-White x-Air

Jordan 1s, designed by none other than the Virgil Abloh. Abloh, the creator of the luxury brand

Off-White, put his own spin on the classic Air Jordans. The subtle and simple differences add a

stylistic touch. The quotations around “AIR” create ironic contextualization to grab attention[TC2]

. Over the years, Virgil has continued to create and collaborate, and the luxury fashion industry

has continued to expand.

In 2012, Virgil created his first clothing label, Pyrex Vision. In an interview with GQ,

Abloh states that Pyrex was “more like an art piece” (Yotka 11). In this line, he “purchased

deadstock Ralph Lauren flannel shirts for $40 each, and screen printed them with the word Pyrex

and the number 23, an homage to his childhood hero, Michael Jordan” (Yotka 11). Although

quite simple, these shirts were the start of luxury streetwear, with a selling price of over $500.

About a year later, Virgil shuts down Pyrex and finally founds Off-White, based in Milan (Yotka

12). He states with Obrist once again that Off-White not just clothing, but a platform to discuss

social issues such as race. Virgil sells streetwear- hoodies, graphic tees, sweats, and sneakers- but

at a luxury pricing. In the same interview with Obrist, Abloh states that “Off-White™ behaves

like a luxury brand, but the spirit and everything underneath it relates to issues of race, youth

culture, and globalization.” For him, Off-White is more than just clothing, but a means of

conversation. Abloh uses Off-White as a platform to combine ideas of streetwear, luxury, art,

music, and travel, completely reinventing the borders of fashion (Yotka 12). Just one year after

its founding, Off-White was featured in Paris Fashion Week, gaining Abloh even more

recognition. Within the next few years, Abloh was seen collaborating with some of the largest
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fashion brands in the world. Nike, Jimmy Choo, Champion, Chrome Hearts, Burton, Mercedes

Benz, IKEA, the NBA, Levi’s, the list goes on. And in 2018, he was named the artistic director

of Louis Vuitton. All of Virgil’s work and collaborations feature his unique staple designs-

striped diagonals, “quotes”, crossed arrows, and zip ties. His most common pieces are

sweatshirts, t-shirts, sneakers, and denim pieces, with prices starting at low of $400. Some of his

work is even seen up in museums such as The MET and The Museum of Contemporary Art in

Chicago, where viewers can see the pieces that helped merge fashion borders.

Hermes and Chanel Advertisements 1970s

“The History of Gucci: A Timeline.” Haute History, http://www.hautehistory.co.uk/gucci-timeline/house-history-

the-gucci-timeline.

Luxury fashion, and fashion in general, has always been associated with elitism. Looking

as far back as the reign of Louis XIV (1600s), the French King established a “court culture with

a strict and lavish dress code” as he linked possession with power. All of the high end fashion
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that was worn by the King was provided to him by the state’s royal manufacturers, and this

created “the idea that the lifestyle of European aristocrats represented the pinnacle of

luxury”(Alvins 6). Fast forwarding to the 1800s in America, this idea of luxury is recreated

amongst the wealthy class. More specifically, industrialization allowed for successful individuals

such as Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, Carnegie, Guggenheim, Astor, Morgan, and Ford to imitate the

same luxury lifestyle that Louis XIV indulged in (Alvins 7). At the end of the day, the target

market of these luxury fashion brands was consistently white, aristocratic individuals. Therefore,

most people of color were not seen within this industry. For example, Hermes. Thierry Hermès

originally established Hermes as a “go-to store for European royalty, whose clientele included

Napoleon Bonaparte…”(Sen 5). Fashion brands like Hermes were, once again, catering to the

wealthy class, the class that has continued to be dominated by white people. Since its founding,

Hermes has been most recognized for their handbags. Birken, Kelly, Bolide- all just a few of

their most recognized pieces. However, they were also known for their formalwear clothing,

jewelry, and other accessories (Sen 6). In a Hermes advertisement from the 1970s, a woman is

shown wearing gloves, and a chic collared button up. Most high end fashion remained

conservative and classy. Gucci is another example of an early luxury fashion brand that has

stayed relevant even into modern times. Like Hermes, Gucci had its origins in Europe, selling

leather goods, travel items, and equestrian equipment to British aristocrats (Marzovilla 3).

Gucci’s 1970s advertisement echoes the same message as Herme’s did, appealing to the white

upper class. Hermes and Gucci are just two examples of some of the earliest successes in luxury

fashion, but their origin and history represent that of almost all lavish clothing brands. Looking

at the industry in current time, it is evident that fashion is becoming more inclusive and
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expanding into territories beyond just formalwear. Off-White is just one example of this,

merging the borders of streetwear and luxurious fashion.

LL Cool J wearing a custom Gucci bomber jacket by Dapper Dan 1986

A$AP Rocky as the first black male face of Dior 2016

Browne, Benedict. “Dapper Dan: Harlem's Hip Hop Tailor.” The Rake, The Rake, 13 Sept. 2017,

https://therake.com/stories/icons/dapper-dan-harlems-hip-hop-tailor/.

Chan, Stephanie. “A$AP Rocky Is the New Face of Dior Homme.” Billboard, 14 June 2016,

https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/asap-rocky-dior-homme-7407929/.

Although its origins can be traced back to over 40 years ago, streetwear first became

globally popular in the 1990s. This type of fashion was derived from “a combination of New

York hip-hop fashion, California surf cat culture and elements of sportswear, punk and Japanese

street fashion” (Temple 1). Unlike luxury fashion brands, streetwear rose to fame from

communities that were surrounded by people of color, and the defining features included casual

comfort and style. When taking a look at New York hip-hop fashion, oversized baggy clothing

was the design. In fact, hip-hop goes back to the 1970s and “the fashion reflected streetwear that

kids in the Bronx already had in their possession, like bomber jackets, tracksuits, and sneakers

with oversized shoe laces” (Shackelford 4). Fashion trends in this area were influenced by what
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was accessible, and hip-hop culture, which includes DJing, graffiti, and dance elements, all

played a role in shaping streetwear. When it came to hip-hop in the 1990s, “sports teams and

Afrocentric colors began to seep into the style conversation…” (DeLeon 12). Here we see the

rise of Air Jordans, graffiti t-shirts, and oversized sweatsuits. During this decade, the first

interaction between luxury fashion and streetwear also arose. Daniel Day, also known as Dapper

Dan, is an African American fashion designer from Harlem. He is known for fusing “Black New

York style and luxury brands”, using fabrics from luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton and

Gucci on tracksuits, bombers, and caps. (DeLeon 37). Despite facing legal copyright issues,

Dapper Dan essentially paved the way for artists such as Virgil Abloh- letting streetwear climb

to the same level of luxury as Chanel. Streetwear began to infiltrate the luxury market when hip-

hop hit mainstream American culture and rappers began putting out their own clothing lines

(Shakelford 53).

Fashion is constantly changing because it is dynamic. The clothes we wear and how we

wear them are a direct reflection of who we are. Fashion represents our cultural values and social

identity. For a majority of history, the fashion industry has been dominated by the same types of

individuals: elitist white creators. Chanel, YSL, Gucci, Hermes- all of the most well known

luxury fashion brands are backed by white designers. And all of the models for these brands fit

this same standard. They are white, thin, and have eurocentric features. Recently, the fashion

industry has been increasingly inclusive, expanding out creators and models who are people of

color. Virgil Abloh’s Off-White is just one example of this expansion, bringing streetwear, a

style most influenced by hip-hop and black artists, into the luxury fashion world. With its entry

into high end fashion, black creators and artists can be celebrated for the influence and impact

that they have had on modern fashion.

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