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Off-White has a new owner. On 30 September, LVMH announced it sold the Virgil Abloh-founded brand to brand management company Bluestar Alliance, which owns brands including Scotch Soda, Hurley, Bebe, Catherine Malandrino and American teen brands Justice and Limited Too.
The companies are not disclosing the terms of the transaction.
“LVMH is proud of the legacy that Off-White has built under Virgil Abloh’s visionary leadership,” the release reads. “Bluestar Alliance is the perfect partner to carry that legacy forward. Bluestar Alliance shares our commitment to respect creative integrity, and we are confident that, under their stewardship, Off-White will continue to innovate while respecting the spirit and values of the brand.”
Off-White was founded by Abloh in 2012. He remained at the helm of the Milan-based brand until he passed away in November 2021, just four months after he sold a 60 per cent stake to LVMH. (Today would have been Abloh s 44th birthday.) The brand remains under a licensing agreement with Farfetch’s New Guards Group (NGG) holding company that is up for renegotiation or termination come 2026.
In June 2023, Off-White gained a new CEO in Cristiano Fagnani as part of a NGG shake-up. No announcement has been made about the impact of this change of ownership on the licensing agreement, though NGG’s own fate remains unclear following South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang’s acquisition of Farfetch. At the time of the sale, what would become of Farfetch’s luxury assets (including NGG) was not disclosed. No update has been made, though in January, outlets reported that Style Capital was eyeing a NGG acquisition.
In the years since Abloh’s passing, the brand has struggled to find its direction without its founder. That said, the sale comes at a surprising moment. Last month, Off-White staged a big comeback show at New York Fashion Week, in what felt like a potential turning point for the streetwear brand. It was the first time Ib Kamara had shown an Off-White collection as the official creative director. (He’d been designing the label for two-and-a-half years without the official title.) “The excitement about the brand and the goodwill for him does feel global,” wrote Nicole Phelps about the show for Vogue Runway.
“V really wanted to show here for a very long time,” Kamara told Vogue Business after the show. “Now that I’m looking at the brand, I feel it’s also my responsibility to honour that vision and bring it to New York and hopefully keep showing it here.”
Now, it’s up to Bluestar Alliance to steer the ship.
“Acquiring Off-White represents a unique opportunity for Bluestar Alliance to honour and build upon the enduring legacy of Virgil Abloh,” Bluestar Alliance CEO Joey Gabbay said in the release. “The acquisition of Off-White, and the opportunity to provide strategic investment and build upon our global network of resources will allow for the continuation of the cultural and creative momentum that Virgil ignited, one that Bluestar Alliance is committed to carrying forward.”
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