Even if you are not into fashion, you’ve probably heard the name Virgil Abloh an awful lot lately. After all, he is a creative director for Kanye West, designer of his uber-popular brand Off-White, DJ (performs under the name “Flat-White”), architect (designed furniture and is releasing a collaboration with IKEA later this year), artist (recently took over London’s Gagosian Gallery for a collaborative exhibit with Takashi Murakami featuring prints and sculptures and designed the album art for Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Watch the Throne, and Yeezus and Lil Uzi Vert’s Luv Is Rage 2), and lecturer (so far at Columbia University, Rhode Island School of Design, and Harvard University). Basically, he is our generation’s Renaissance Man.
In 2019, Abloh’s work will be the subject of a focused retrospective at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, where he will show new work alongside previously unseen works from his past.
All of this is from a man who originally studied civil engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and then obtained his master’s degree in architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology. His brand Off-White has seen a meteoric rise lately; many celebrities regularly don his clothes boldly marked with diagonal black and white stripes. In 2015, Off-White was the only American finalist for the prestigious LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy) Prize for Young Fashion Designers. Abloh mixes streetwear with a high-end aesthetic that is loaded with pop culture and art references. When you see a Caravaggio painting or the Mona Lisa on a hoodie, it makes you think of the value we place on high art. Abloh’s signature penchant for deconstruction and typeface graphics are easy to distinguish from other brands in the oversaturated market right now. His stores more closely resemble boutiques and galleries than luxury shops. Abloh’s radical vision to reinvent the fashion industry is gradually taking hold as other designers struggle to reinvigorate their respective labels and look to Off-White’s successful business.
This weekend, the newest version of the Air Jordan 1 is releasing only to European retailers for the price of $190. If you know someone in Europe, this is the time to reconnect! The shoe itself is a creamy white version of the original Jordan 1 with a subtle light blue tone on the tongue, toe, ankle, and side panels that looks better the more I look at it. The contrast between the blue stitching on the Swoosh and the orange patch complete the design perfectly. Abloh’s attention to detail is highlighted by the blue zip tie attached to the shoe’s collar, the Off-White branding on the side panels, and “AIR” written on the midsole, features which add to the beauty of the model. These sneakers also come with black, light blue, orange, and purple shoelaces with “SHOELACE” in quotes printed on it.
The word “grail” is overused in the sneaker world but it most certainly applies here. This is another shoe that will go down in history. The white Off-White Jordan 1 comes off after last year’s groundbreaking collection with Nike. “Ten Icons Reconstructed” was launched by Nike in 2017 in collaboration with Virgil Abloh as a celebration of iconic Nike footwear classics. The ten silhouettes covered were the Air Jordan 1, Nike Air Presto, Nike Air Max 90, Nike Air Force 1, Nike Air Vapormax, Nike Hyperdunk, Nike Zoom Fly, Converse Chuck Taylor, Nike Blazer, and the Nike Air Max 97. The Off-White Air Jordan 1 actually won the 2017 Footwear News Achievement Awards “Shoe of the Year.” Previous recipients of the coveted award include Rihanna, Kanye West, and Stan Smith. I would agree with the choice. He took a great shoe and somehow made it more awesome. It was destined to be an instant classic. Identical to the white Jordan 1 except in color, the shoes channel the original “Chicago” Jordan 1 colorway. Abloh revisited the entire concept of shoes by redesigning the box and turning it inside out. The outside of the box was plain cardboard while the inside hinted at the normal Jordan shoe box. In addition, the sneakers came with four sets of shoelaces: black, white, lime green, and orange. Each also had “SHOELACE” in quotes printed on it. It didn’t hurt that Abloh strategically sent out his shoes to Drake, A$AP Rocky, Wiz Khalifa, Playboi Carti, Travis Scott, Wiz Khalifa, Roger Federer, Chance The Rapper, Lil Uzi Vert, John Mayer, Kim Jones, Frank Ocean, Ibn Jasper, Eric Koston, Tom Sachs, Luka Sabbat, and Ian Connor. The social media campaign whipped up a frenzy among sneakerheads and even casual fashionistas. Surely it was no surprise that the hyped shoes all sold out immediately upon release and resell values have skyrocketed over the past few months. On various platforms, the Air Jordan 1 is reaching $2000 while the Air Presto sells around $1500 on the secondary market. While these prices are admittedly ridiculous and represent around a 1000% price premium over their retail price, the fact that these numbers exist is proof that Virgil and Nike have a veritable hit collection on their hands and the hype is just beginning.
If you missed out on this release, do not worry. For Air Max Day taking place on March 26, two new versions of the Nike Air Vapormax in all-white and all-black are set to make their debut. Their signature features are the Flyknit construction, VaporMax sole, “AIR” branding on the heel, more branding on the inner lateral section, and a distinctive orange tab embroidered on the Swoosh. There is also a bright orange Nike Mercurial Vapor in the works. This particular shoe is a soccer cleat, which is significant since Abloh played soccer competitively during high school. This version offers a new twist by essentially boasting the Mercurial’s upper construction, bearing Off-White text on the sides, along with Swooshes, blue and white circles, and a matching translucent VaporMax sole. Stay tuned for more of Virgil Abloh and Off-White because he is definitely going to continue with these wonderful releases.
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