LVMH takes control of Off-White

Virgil Abloh, who has sold a controlling stake in Off-White to LVMH.

Off-White’s founder, Virgil Abloh, is to sell a majority stake of his Off-White label to LVMH Group.

The US designer, entrepreneur, and DJ – who has held the role of artistic director of Louis Vuitton’s menswear for three years – has committed to work with LVMH on new luxury fashion projects across multiple categories.

Abloh founded Milan-based Off-White in 2012. Under the sale agreement, LVMH will hold a 60-per-cent interest in the trademark, while Abloh will retain the balance and remain as its creative director. 

Expected to be completed within the next 60 days, the value of acquisition has not yet been disclosed.

“For nearly a decade, we’ve been building Off-White to be a brand designed to empower our generation and challenge the status quo,” said Abloh in a statement. “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.” 

Moving forward LVMH and Abloh will launch new brands and partner with existing ones in a variety of sectors beyond the realm of fashion.

“We have already had the privilege of witnessing Virgil’s exceptional creativity and vision through his work with us at Louis Vuitton,” said Bernard Arnault, chairman and CEO of LVMH. 

“This is an incredible new platform to take the disruption we’ve achieved together to a whole new level,” said Abloh. 

Off-White is known for its luxury urban style, “defining the grey area between black and white as a colour”. 

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