Virgil Abloh
Who doesn’t know the Off-White brand? With Virgil Abloh’s iconic arrow T-shirts and long sleeves and his collaborations with Ikea, Nike and Jordan, he is one of the most influential designers in the world. The Air Jordan x Off-White sneaker is currently the most wanted shoe of all, but why is that?
Virgil Abloh is the CEO of the Off-White label, which is based in Milan. It was founded in 2012 and was previously called PYREX VISON. Since 2018 he has been artistic director of the Louis Vuitton menswear collection, and that same year Virgil Abloh was named one of the most influential people in the world by Time Magazine. What few people know is that, alongside his life in the fashion industry, he is both a producer and a DJ. In 2018, for example, he played the opening and closing parties of Hí in Ibiza together with DJ Black Coffee. In 2009 he was even temporarily artistic director of Kanye West’s merchandise.
Luxury brands
Like Prada, Balenciaga and Gucci, Virgil’s brand Off-White fits the fashion designer picture. In 2017, the international men’s magazine GQ stated: “Like these brands, Abloh is the product of an era in which the lines between designer and consumer, and between fashion and streetwear, blurred.” This means that brands like these are becoming more and more independent-minded instead of following the latest trend rules, because they create them themselves.
The Off-White x Jordan collaborations
Air Jordan 1 Retro High Off-White Chicago “The Ten”
The Air Jordan 1 Retro High is the "must have" for every sneaker lover. Virgil Abloh deconstructed the Air Jordan 1, the first shoe designed by Nike personally for Michael Jordan in 1984. The Jordan brand is currently a subsidiary of Nike, so Virgil was able to reconstruct the Air Jordan 1. The Air Jordan 1 comes in many different colors, but Virgil decided to use the Chicago colors Michael Jordan played in, namely white-red and black. Virgil took the shoe completely apart, readjusted the most important elements and placed them around the shoe. This shoe was released in November 2017.
Air Jordan 1 Retro High Off-White NRG
After Virgil Abloh and Nike gained huge exposure in the sneaker world with “The Ten” in 2017, they continued their partnership that same year with a 2nd collaboration. The Air Jordan 1 Retro High Off-White NRG first appeared on the feet of a privileged woman during Paris Fashion Week and marks the return of a model praised by all sneaker lovers. This colorway is much purer than the Air Jordan 1 Chicago released last year and stands out for its simplicity. However, Virgil Abloh does not forget that the uniqueness of his shoes lies in the details. There are two blue decorative stitches on the sneaker’s swoosh, offset by orange tones on the tongue and under the swoosh. Finally, the Off-White branding is on the inside of the foot and the well-known "AIR" is written on the sole of the shoe. To stay true to the “unique” rule, this model is as limited as ever and was initially released exclusively in Europe.
Air Jordan 1 Retro High Off-White University Blue
Later, on 23 June 2018, Virgil designed a light blue version of the shoe in the traditional colors of the University of North Carolina. It represents the university Michael Jordan graduated from and is a common color used for Air Jordan shoes. What made the hype even bigger is that big celebrities such as Michael Jordan, Bella Hadid, Drake, Naomi Campbell, Travis Scott, Odell Beckham Jr. and Chris Brown received their own personalized versions of this shoe before the worldwide release.
Off-White x Air Jordan 1 "Canary Yellow"
The Off-White x Air Jordan 1 "Canary Yellow" was first shown last year (June 2019) at the "Figures of Speech" exhibition at the MCA Chicago. Erik Arteaga, a well-known skater, posted a video of himself skating while wearing the Jordans. Earlier, Virgil Abloh had tweeted ‘black-friday-canary-yellow…’ and everyone thought the sneaker would come out then; unfortunately, that was not the case. It was never properly released and was later confirmed to be a sample.
Air Jordan 5 Retro Off-White Black
After several long-awaited outings, the collaboration between Off-White, led by Virgil Abloh, and Air Jordan now makes way for a model celebrating the 30th anniversary of Tinker Hatfield’s design: the Air Jordan 5 Retro Off-White Black, which was released on 15 February 2020. This Air Jordan has a fairly detailed style with a gray thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) upper. On the black lace side we see the inscription "shoelaces" and the Air Jordan 5 Retro Off-White signature, reflecting the collaboration behind this pair. Other details include two applied circles, a reflective tongue and the "Nike Air" logo on the heel. The yellow sole gives this design a vintage look. In addition, the sneaker release is accompanied by a T-shirt, hoodie, pants and jacket in the Off-White x Jordan capsule collection.
Air Jordan 4 Retro Off-White ‘Sail’
During Virgil Abloh’s fall/winter 2020 fashion show in Paris, the Air Jordan 4 Retro Off-White ’Sail’ made an appearance, but for the actual release he took a different approach than before. You could bid on a signed pair of the Off-White x Air Jordan 4 ‘Sail’. At the time, Virgil had started an auction on eBay supporting the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. The bid then stood at £16.000,-, which converts to €17.700,-. The proceeds from the sneaker were donated to two organizations in the United Kingdom, namely The Black Curriculum and Inquest. The auction closed on Thursday 25 June at 19:00 in the evening. Alongside the auction, the sneaker was released on Saturday 25 June 2020. The Air Jordan has a monochrome upper in an ultra-vintage style. It has a cream-colored leather base, combined with a checked side cage and some synthetic elements such as Wings and a matte TPU heel. The usual "shoelaces" markings on the laces and the word "air" above the air bubble have been added as a signature, as well as the "shoelaces" and "AIR" tags with Off-White and Air Jordan attached to the laces.
Off-White x Nike Air Jordan 4 “Bred” (Rumor)
After Virgil Abloh debuted his cream-colored Off-White ™ x Nike Air Jordan 4 in Paris, rumors followed that a "Bred" version would be released alongside the Jordan 4 during the fall/winter 2020 season.
