LVMH sells Off-White: Is this the end for Virgil Abloh’s brand?

Off-White, the Virgil Abloh brand that was bought out by LVMH in 2021 at the height of its popularity now faces cultural irrelevancy. Why?

What’s happened? LVMH has sold its streetwear fashion brand Off-White to Bluestar Alliance, a New York-based brand management company.

Why is it significant? While LVMH – the French multinational luxury conglomerate formed through the merger of Louis Vuitton and Moët Hennessy – regularly sell and acquire brands, Off-White’s acquisition marked a significant shift in the company’s popularity with younger audiences.

How did it do that? It all comes down to one man: Virgil Abloh. American fashion designer Abloh quickly rose to fame in the 2010s for his collaborations with Kanye West as an artistic director. Abloh founded Off-White in 2013 and produced high-end streetwear at a time when the clothes were most popular. Off-White quickly became one of the most high-profile brands in the world.

And LVMH? As Abloh’s Off-White increased in popularity, LVMH was having the opposite issue. The luxury brand was struggling to resonate with younger fashionistas less interested in their formalwear. In 2018, Louis Vuitton named Abloh as their artistic director, making him the first Black person to lead their menswear brand. LVMH also bought a minority stake in the Off-White brand.

Did it work? Hell yes it did. Despite industry uncertainty at the time, Abloh revived Louis Vuitton’s relevancy by bringing in his streetwear aesthetic to their more formal stylings. It was an ingenious pairing and LVMH increased its minority stake to 60% of the company to take control in 2021. The other 40% was then owned by British e-commerce company Farfetch with Abloh retaining the trademark rights.

Isn’t that around the time when..? If you didn’t already know, Abloh died in late 2021 of a rare cancer he’d been diagnosed with in 2019 but kept private. He was 41 years old.

What happened next? Abloh’s death was a surprise to LVMH which had planned to increase his role within the company. Without him at the helm of Louis Vuitton, the French fashion house has continued to succeed, naming Pharrell Williams as the latest creative director last year. However, Abloh’s own brand Off-White has floundered within the LVMH fold. Without Abloh at the helm, the appeal for the brand diminished alongside a general slowdown of luxury goods demand and a shift away from streetwear brands.

Brand difficulties? New Off-White CEO Cristiano Fagnani took over in 2023 and reported efforts of trying to “reset” the brand and bring it back to its roots as the brand was in a “critical situation”. Fagnani said that while Abloh joining Louis Vuitton was good for them, it hadn’t been good for Off-White and put the brand out of touch with its customer base. “Off-White was never a luxury brand and that’s consistent with the Virgil era. It’s about cultural value over luxury craft.”

Is that all? If only. 40% owner of Off-White, Farfetch, has also been in financial difficulties which has likely helped sow the seeds of doubt into LVMH’s business minds.

Which brings us to now? Pretty much. LVMH has now sold off its stake in the Off-White brand to Bluestar Alliance for an undisclosed amount, announcing the news on what would have been Abloh’s 44th birthday.

Who’s Bluestar Alliance? Bluestar Alliance are an American brand management company that own multiple other fashion brands, notably Tahari, Bebe and Scotch & Soda. While that might seem a lease of life, it’s likely to spell the end of Off-White’s time as a culturally dominant force. Bluestar is known for acquiring brands that are in a dire state to then licence off the brand, often at a lower price point.