What will be the future of Off-White™ without Virgil Abloh?

Only a few months have passed since the untimely death of Virgil Abloh, but both Louis Vuitton and Off-White™ find themselves in the need to plan their future without one of the most important figures for both brands. If Vuitton has announced that it is in no hurry to announce its new artistic director, Off-White™ seems to be of the same opinion. In an interview with BoF, Davide De Giglio and Andrea Grill stated that they want to carry on through a collective work the vision of Abloh thanks to the many cues and ideas that the design has left behind. «The connection with Virgil was mainly on WhatsApp,» Grilli recounted. «The number of ideas that we have directly from him it’s endless. This is the legacy that we’re going to build around.»

There are several examples of brands that, having lost their founder, have decided to carry on his legacy in a continuous work that has proved to be successful. But if it is true that fashion in the days of Christian Dior or Alexander McQueen moved at a different speed compared to today, it is undeniable that the legacy left by Abloh is not only linked to clothes, but to the construction of a community and a direct dialogue with his fans. It's no coincidence that, unlike many other brands, «Off-White is one of the few brands that can sell a mug, a rug, an ashtray and a leather jacket,» as Grilli put it.

Also for this reason, in the future of the brand there is the debut of a genderless beauty line and a collabo with the restaurant group Caviar Kaspia. The nearer future instead, that of the show scheduled today at Paris Fashion Week, will see not only the debut of a collabo with Church, a project conceived by Abloh before his death, but also that of the brand on TikTok. Through the new feature Live Lineup, the brand will give users the opportunity to follow the show by choosing a series of different shots, thus being able to actively interact, a novelty compared to what was done in the past by Prada and Louis Vuitton, just to name a few, who had broadcast their live shows in the classic sigle camera mode. An initiative that represents an attempt by the platform to bring brands closer to the TikTok community, but also a choice in continuity with the desire to renew itself brought forward by the brand. «TikTok is a platform unlike any other, and a safe place for free expression, grounded communities, and the endless sharing of ideas, creativity and knowledge» said a spokesperson for the brand.