The world’s number one luxury goods company LVMH has reached an agreement with Virgil Abloh, artistic director of Louis Vuitton and owner of luxury streetwear brand Off-White, to become a majority shareholder of Off-White.
Luxury goods giant LVMH, led by billionaire Bernard Arnault, announced a deal between the group and the artistic director of one of its major houses, Virgil Abloh for Louis Vuitton.
Virgil Abloh, one of the first black designers to lead the artistic direction of a major luxury house, founded the successful streetwear brand Off-White in 2013 in Milan. This Tuesday morning, LVMH became a majority shareholder in Virgil Abloh‘s brand.
“LVMH will own 60% of the brand and Mr. Abloh 40%,” the luxury leader said. The transaction is expected to be finalized within 60 days, and will not impact Virgil Abloh‘s place at Louis Vuitton, who will continue to oversee the design of the house’s men’s collections.
At the Paris Men’s Fashion Week held last January, designer Virgil Abloh presented a modern and very popular men’s collection that carried a strong message against racist and homophobic injustices.
Previously, it was the Italian group New Guards that was the majority shareholder of Off-White. Despite this new transaction, Off-White says that the New Guards Group will remain a key partner for the brand and maintains its licensing agreement.
“For nearly a decade, we have built Off-White as a responsible brand that grapples with the concerns of our generation to challenge the status quo. LVMH brings us the power and scale to accelerate our momentum and make Off-White a true luxury brand with multiple categories and products“, said Virgil Abloh.
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