The Number One in luxury goods has sold Off-White to the American company Bluestar Alliance, which manages and markets a portfolio of consumer ready-to-wear brands. The luxury streetwear label was founded by the late Virgil Abloh, its former men’s artistic director at Louis Vuitton…
Coincidence? LVMH chose September 30, the late Virgil Abloh’s birthday, to announce the sale of Off-White to Bluestar Alliance, a New York-based brand management company.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The luxury streetwear label Off-White was founded in 2013 in Milan by Virgil Abloh, mowed down by cancer in November 2021, at the age of 41.
New birth?
It remains to be seen whether this change of hands corresponds to a new birth for Off-White on the other side of the Atlantic… While the label had previously been a regular fixture at Paris Fashion Week, it recently opted for New York and Brooklyn Bridge Park to present its latest show, the Spring-Summer 2025 collection.
Under its umbrella, Off-White presents menswear and womenswear collections , as well as lifestyle items (decorative objects, furniture, etc.).
Created in 2006, the American Bluestar Alliance manages and markets a portfolio of ready-to-wear consumer brands in several distribution channels, particularly department stores. Its scope is varied, ranging from fashion brand Scotch & Soda to surfwear brand Hurley, and including (among others) the highly feminine collections of Catherine Malandrino and Nanette Lepore,English Laundry ‘s sobritish label, blending vintage chic with a “touch of rebellion”, and Limited Too, aimed at pre-adolescent girls…
A “less luxury” future?
In view of this range, specialist media outlet FashionUnited deems it “easy to imagine a future that would perhaps be less positioned as luxury, but focused on meeting a wider target”.
Bluestar Alliance CEO Joey Gabbay, for his part, assured us that “the acquisition of Off-White” represented, “for Bluestar Alliance, a unique opportunity to pay tribute to Virgil Abloh’s enduring legacy and make it shine”.
He stressed thatVirgil Abloh’s“visionary approach to fashion” “resonated deeply” withhis group’s“values”.
Virgil was a creative pioneer who had a major impact on the entire fashion sector and the creative world. His ability to merge urban culture and fashion set new standards, perfectly in line with our vocation to combine innovation and diversity. The acquisition of Off-White, the strategic investments we will be able to make, and the possibility of drawing on our global resources, will enable us to perpetuate the cultural and creative momentum initiated by Virgil, a dynamic that Bluestar Alliance is committed to continuing.”
“Ideal partner”
Bluestar Alliance does not specify whether it intends to extend the contract of Ibrahim Kamara, who has been creative director at Off White (after making a name for himself as editor-in-chief of fashion magazine Dazed) since Virgil Abloh’s death.
For its part, LVMH, “proud of the legacy that Off-White has built under the avant-garde leadership of Virgil Abloh”, believes that “Bluestar Alliance is the ideal partner to perpetuate this heritage”.
While “Bluestar Alliance shares LVMH’s commitment to creative integrity”, the luxury group said it was “convinced that with this new partner, Off-White will continue to innovate while preserving the spirit and values of the brand”.
In any case, Off-White will not remain in the Number One luxury goods group’s portfolio for very long…
A legend in his own lifetime
In July 2021, LVMH bought 60% of the brand’s capital from Virgil Abloh, who retained 40%. But the latter had above all become a star of the Fashion Sphere and social networks by becoming artistic director of Louis Vuitton’s men’s collections in 2018. Until the beautiful story came to a tragic end at the end of 2021.
But in the meantime, the Ghana-born designer had already become a legend in his own lifetime. Ultra-brilliant and versatile, the man who was destined for the architectural profession then dabbled with talent in music as a dj, record producer, right-hand man to American rapper Kanye West.. But it was in fashion design that he left his most lasting mark.
Before the luxury world embraced inclusivity, he was the first black designer to work for a major fashion house, unabashedly affirming the heritage of African-American culture at Louis Vuitton.
To succeed him at Louis Vuitton, LVMH has chosen a profile that shares many similarities with Virgil Abloh: music producer, singer and stylist Pharrell Williams, also a representative of African-American artistic genius.
Just before announcing that it was divesting Off White, LVMH announced that it was putting a foot in Moncler, by helping its CEO Remo Ruffini to strengthen his capital positions in the down jacket specialist. In these times of slowdown in the luxury goods market, the sector’s Number One clearly considers it more prudent to bet on a safe, highly resilient value like Moncler than on a label that is still new and whose emblematic designer disappeared too quickly…
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Read also > Moncler: CEO Remo Ruffini strengthens his control thanks to LVMH
Featured Photo: © Off-White
