In an attempt to appeal to a younger demographic, French luxury group LVMH has acquired a majority stake in Virgil Abloh’s Off-White label.
Following the acquisition, LVMH will own a 60% interest in the trademark, whilst Abloh will retain a 40% interest and continue as creative director of the brand, which he founded in 2013.
Virgil, who first rose to prominence in the early 2000s as Kanye West’s creative consultant, works as artistic director at Louis Vuitton menswear alongside running his own label, which is now known globally for its high-end streetwear.
In a statement, LVMH said that in his new role, the menswear designer will help to launch new brands and also partner with existing ones to expand their current offering “beyond the realm of fashion”.
Commenting on the sale, Abloh said: “For nearly a decade, we’ve been building Off-White to be a brand designed to empower our generation and challenge the status quo. LVMH brings to the table the additional firepower and scale to accelerate our momentum and evolve Off-White into a truly multi-line luxury brand.”
“I’m incredibly excited to work together with LVMH on other possible collaborations – an evolution of the great relationship I have had with LVMH, Bernard Arnault, Michael Burke at Louis Vuitton, and others. I’m also honoured to use this partnership to deepen my longstanding commitment to expand opportunities for diverse individuals and foster greater equity and inclusion in the industries we serve. This is an incredible new platform to take the disruption we’ve achieved together to a whole new level.”
Bernard Arnault, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of LVMH, added: “We are thrilled to expand our successful partnership with Virgil. We have already had the privilege of witnessing Virgil’s exceptional creativity and vision through his work with us at Louis Vuitton. We look forward to supporting Virgil and the team both in driving the growth of Off-White and in working together with Virgil to bring his unique sensibility to a broader range of luxury categories.”
