Off-White Fall 2015 Collection / OFF-WHITE DESIGN Virgil Abloh talks Fashion Shows, Bringing Fashion to the Youth & Designing Furniture

Virgil Abloh‘s Off-White label returns for the Fall 2015 season, presenting its menswear lineup (dubbed “Don’t Look Down” after the its mountaineering-inspired aesthetic) at Paris Fashion Week. Almost entirely abandoning previous seasons’ heavy reliance on straightforward graphics and palettes, the collection plays host to a variety of earthy, neutral tones, punctuated by ponchos, field jackets and roped windbreakers. While Abloh’s label has spearheaded a new wave of streetwear designers with their sights firmly set on upsetting the traditional fashion establishment (this season’s presentation was accompanied by a pop up event open to anyone – not just the fashion illuminati), previous collections tended to lean too heavily on basic branding and middle of the road styling, marking this season as a big step up for the young label, in both scope and statement.

For more from the Chicago-born designer, check out his recent GQ interview.

Equal parts designer, DJ and creative director, Virgil Abloh recently sat down with GQ to discuss to discuss his latest Off-White collection, Milan’s fashion week and his DIY approach to fashion presentations. The in-depth conversation also reveals Abloh will be soon releasing a line of furniture (not so surprising considering his background in architecture) and how he believes his legions of young supporters will eventually turn against him. Check out the excerpt below and for the full piece head over to GQ.

What were you looking to establish in the first year of Off-White?
That Jordan effect: Allow people to see the growth. My brain moves way too fast, and I want to go from zero to a hundred really quick. But the label is based off a streetwear idea, and I’m known as a streetwear kid, yet I also wanted to organize a series of looks that reinforce one point and one storyline. That was and still is the goal. Is always the goal.
And do the clothes from scratch this time.
Yeah, and all self-taught still. Design a store, design a candle, design furniture. This week I launched a line of furniture, all under Off-White, that has my whole aesthetic. It’s not a printed t-shirt, but it’s still from the same place. So I’m developing the language and pushing it forward, trying to see how far it can go.
So what happens when you land in Paris tomorrow?
More meetings. Then on the 22nd I’m doing my first presentation. It’s funny, I always said I wasn’t going to do a presentation until I had an idea—but my idea is sort of like no idea. That’s the new idea [laughs]. I just rented a gallery, I’m gonna get a bunch of mannequins, I’m gonna art direct the shit out of the place, play Wu Tang, and not invite any press. Only the kids. My brand is based off of the kids, and the relationship to the “street.” So what better way to present it than to just open the door, no security, no door people. Maybe have no clothes there. Or—this is just free vibes—maybe have the clothes and wrap them in garbage bags. Because it’s not really about, “Hey, come here, look at my shit, and buy it.” It’s more like, just come hang out and vibe. We’re the new Paris. I’m not gonna waste my time trying to get that narrow presentation slot. I’m better served doing what I think is cool and what kids would rather do. You know, they can’t get into fashion shows anyway, so why not just come hang.