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French luxury group LVMH has sold the streetwear brand Off-White founded by the late designer Virgil Abloh to a brand management company.
LVMH would not disclose the terms of the deal with New-York based Bluestar Alliance, which comes nearly three years after the pioneering designer’s death in 2021. Bluestar also owns fashion brands including Scotch & Soda, Elie Tahari, Bebe and Hurley.
“LVMH is proud of the legacy that Off-White has built under Virgil Abloh’s visionary leadership. Bluestar Alliance is the perfect partner to carry that legacy forward,” the Paris-listed group controlled by Bernard Arnault said in a statement.
“The acquisition of Off-White . . . will allow for the continuation of the cultural and creative momentum that Virgil ignited,” Bluestar chief executive Joey Gabbay said.
In 2021 LVMH increased its minority stake to take control of Off-White for an undisclosed sum, months before Abloh’s untimely death. At the time of the deal the group had envisioned an expanded role for Abloh across LVMH to launch brands and collaborations.
The American creative had been hired to design menswear at Louis Vuitton, the group’s main revenue and profitability driver, in 2018.
The move surprised some in the fashion industry but paid off as LVMH was looking to diversify its audience and younger consumers flocked towards an aesthetic that mixed sneakers and camouflage with formalwear.
However, carrying on Off-White’s legacy without its founder has proved difficult, coinciding with declining demand for streetwear and a slowing global market for luxury goods.
A push upmarket by the brand was not well received by consumers and wholesale buyers.
An additional layer of complexity was added by the fact that, while LVMH’s purchase gave it ownership of the Off-White trademarks, the label’s operating company — in which LVMH also took a minority stake — still has a licensing agreement in place with New Guards Group, owned by financially troubled online retailer Farfetch.
However, the licensing deal will be up for renegotiation next year.
Executives at both New Guards Group and LVMH said shortly after Abloh’s passing that he had left behind a large legacy of ideas and plans that would continue to fuel the brand.
However, Off-White chief executive Cristiano Fagnani described a “critical situation” by the time he took over in 2023 in an interview with Business of Fashion. This was “in part due to the decision to shift positioning; in part due to the challenging situation at Farfetch”.
Since then the brand has looked to revive its fortunes, including debuting at New York Fashion Week earlier this month.
And last week, Off-White announced a partnership with the women’s NBA basketball team New York Liberty, the latest in a wider embrace of women’s sports by luxury fashion brands.
Additional reporting by Sara Germano
