There’s so much more to Off-White than clothing and accessories. Off-White is the purest combo of fashion, art and cult. And there’s one man in particular who made Off-White the hottest urban brand in the world: Virgil Abloh. Sadly Abloh has passed, but his brand Off-White is more alive than ever before. Undeniably, Virgil Abloh’s significance as the most prolific designer of his generation is an interesting and inspiring story on its own. We tell you all you need to know about the history of Off-White, and Off-White clothing.

Virgil Abloh: biography and career

Virgil Abloh was an American fashion designer and entrepreneur. He was the child of Ghanaian immigrants who grew up in Chicago. His mum was a seamstress, and his dad managed a paint company. Virgil graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a Bs degree in civil engineering and received a Master of Architecture. While studying architecture, he designed T-shirts and wrote on fashion and design for a popular blog. Virgil met musician Kanye West when they were both interns at the high-end designer brand Fendi, and they hit it off right away. Together, they opened RSVP Gallery and retailed clothes in various styles. Kanye and Virgil also collaborated on the artistic version for the album Watch The Throne, and won many awards.

Abloh got the idea to set up his own brand as an artistic experiment, and founded Pyrex Vision. For Pyrex Vision, he would buy outdated Ralph Lauren items, screen-print his own design on them and sell each item for up to $550. Pyrex Vision caught on with teenagers and the clothes became immensely popular. Despite the rise of his company, Abloh never intended Pyrex Vision to be a commercial company. Only a year after its foundation, Virgil decided to move in another direction. 

Off-White: the start of a high-end designer brand

In 2013 Abloh founded a new iconic designer brand: Off-White. He described his company as: “Off-White is the grey colour zone between black and white.” Abloh made possible what until then was considered impossible: merging streetwear and haute-couture. Virgil was very outspoken on art, culture and fashion, which all trickled down into his avant-garde and cult apparel. And the world loved it! Besides amazing fashion, Off-White is nicked ‘King of Collabs’ because it collaborated with Nike, Levi’s, Jimmy Choo, Moncler, and Ikea.

Abloh on the inspiration behind founding Off-White, the high-end streetwear label:

“In a large part streetwear is seen as cheap. What my goal has been is to add an intellectual layer to it and make it credible.”

And we love Virgil Abloh for this quote! All Off-White clothing and accessories are brilliant, but the Off-White shoes, Off-White belts and Off-White hoodies definitely stand out. Sadly, Virgil Abloh passed away on November 28, 2021, but his brand is now hotter than ever. 

Off-White logo

The iconic Off-White logos are prominently featured on all garments. The logos reflect what the brand stands for: a minimalist casual style with no fuss. The Off-White logos are black and white, because the brand describes itself as a company that stands for the grey zone between black and white.

Off-White has more than one logo, but the most iconic one is the four-way arrow logo. It has the form of four arrows pointing from centre in different directions. They are connected so that they form a square. Another iconic logo is the Off-White quotation marks that are prominently featured in many Off-White designs.

Founder Off-White and Louis Vuitton

Besides the popular brand Off-White, founder Abloh had more accomplishments in the fashion world. In 2018, Abloh became the first person of African descent to be appointed artistic director of Louis Vuitton’s men’s line. With this accomplishment, Abloh set an example for many inside and outside the black community. He showed everyone that you could achieve anything you want. That same year, Time Magazine named him as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. The New York Times applauded Virgil Abloh for his bridging of streetwear and luxury clothing together.


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