Dive Brief:
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LVMH and Virgil Abloh on Tuesday announced that the luxury conglomerate will acquire a majority stake in Off-White LLC, the trademark owner of Off-White, according to a company press release.
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LVMH will own a 60% interest in the trademark, while Abloh, who founded Off-White in 2013, will retain a 40% interest and continue on as creative director of the brand. The deal is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close within 60 days.
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Abloh has been the artistic director of Louis Vuitton's menswear collection since 2018 and will also continue in that role.
Dive Insight:
While LVMH is deepening its relationship with Off-White financially, it is also furthering Abloh's role across the luxury conglomerate.
Abloh will retain his roles with both Off-White and Louis Vuitton, yet the partnership gives the designer room to launch new brands and partner with existing ones beyond fashion. Although LVMH did not expound on what that may include, the company said "initial discussions have already begun."
"We have already had the privilege of witnessing Virgil's exceptional creativity and vision through his work with us at Louis Vuitton," said LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault in a statement. "We look forward to supporting Virgil and the team both in driving the growth of Off-White and in working together with Virgil to bring his unique sensibility to a broader range of luxury categories."
Italian holding company New Guards Group will remain an operating partner for Off-White through its licensing agreement.
In October 2020 Tiffany & Co. agreed to be acquired by LVMH for $15.8 billion after a tumultuous year of back and forth litigation that ended with the price being $400 million less than its original agreement. This winter, LVMH bought a 50% stake in Jay-Z's champagne brand, Armand de Brignac. And in June the conglomerate took full control of fashion house Emilio Pucci, after reportedly buying out the stake held by the Pucci family.
"LVMH brings to the table the additional firepower and scale to accelerate our momentum and evolve Off-White into a truly multi-line luxury brand," Abloh said in a statement.
Abloh worked as Kanye West's creative director and with Fendi. In 2012, he launched Pyrex Vision, which ultimately led to the creation of Off-White.
