MILAN — The late Virgil Abloh founded Off-White in 2012 and his enduring legacy and visionary approach to design have become a case study.

So much so that the inspiration for the 10 talents recruited for the “10 x 10: Off-White Icons Reimagined” project was more than abundant, said the brand’s chief executive officer Cristiano Fagnani and Laetitia Loffredo, vice president of brand marketing.

Speaking at the Off-White headquarters in central Milan — a new location following the sale of the brand in September 2024 by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton to New York-based Bluestar Alliance LLC — the duo enthused about the initiative, which sees 10 creatives reimagining some of the brand’s signature pieces.

“We have been working on this project for the past year, wanting to raise the volume on Off-White at this moment, after the transition into the Bluestar fold, and we were looking for an authentic way to talk about what’s next for the brand, bringing it back at the center of the conversation,” said Loffredo. 

On Wednesday, clips with brief interviews with the talents, directed by Dexter Navy, will be uploaded on social media. The first product, a T-shirt by Ava Nirui, will be available starting in July. Monthly drops are scheduled for the next year and a half.

Loffredo underscored how the aim was to include creativity from 10 talents with different backgrounds and expertise.

“We like numbers and 10 has a special meaning for us,” said Fagnani, recalling Nike’s sneaker collaboration with Abloh and Off-White on “The Ten” in 2017, a collection of 10 revisited footwear silhouettes. Fagnani at the time was a Nike veteran, overseeing the giant sports brand’s high-profile collaborations — hence the partnership with Off-White, which eventually led him to join Abloh at Off-White in 2023.

Fagnani emphasized that the “10 x 10: Off-White Icons Reimagined” project was “by no means a shortcut. Given how unique Off-White is, how it has always set new rules, it stimulates a new way of thinking, bridging streetwear and luxury, culture and craft, Europe and the U.S., and is entirely aligned with the legacy and mission of the brand.”

This is especially meaningful in the current uncertain context, when brands “need to re-center. Product, craft and legacy are pivot points to culturally stimulate and connect people,” Fagnani contended. Rather than talking about community, a term he said has been abused, he sees the 10 x 10 initiative as “a collective project, a movement to express what we mean through our products and the heterogeneous talents.”

“The power of the collective has always worked for Off-White,” concurred Loffredo.

The motivation behind these creative minds impressed her and Fagnani. “They were selected based on their relationship with the brand, and they can be seen as our  ambassadors. They bring new energy to Off-White,” said Loffredo.

The talents were given carte blanche, and the only recommendation was for the item to be recognizable as Off-White.

Fagnani recalled Abloh’s 3 percent rule, “the idea that a pre-existing product or design can be transformed into something original, modern and innovative by changing it by just 3 percent. The beautifully chaotic and non-linear progression surprised us and creates different energy thanks to external agents.”

The pieces will be highlighted in key cities during cultural events ranging from New York during the Frieze art fair in May and Paris during Men’s Fashion Week in June, to Miami during Art Basel in December, among others.

In detail, here are the products each talent has worked on:

The T-shirt: Ava Nirui, the New York-based, Australian creative director, stylist, writer, photographer and a former longtime Marc Jacobs collaborator, revisited the garment with her signature gender-agnostic viewpoint and ’90s youth culture nostalgia.  

The Jitney bag: Raul Lopez, the cofounder of Hood By Air and founder and designer of fashion brand Luar, worked on the brand’s signature bag, weaving in New York City and Dominican Republic elements and inspirations.

The Meteor motif: Copenhagen-born, Los Angeles-based stylist, designer, and model Veneda Carter, who has worked with Kanye West on the Yeezy brand and styled Kim Kardashian, conceptualized the Off-White Meteor motif in ready-to-wear and two pairs of shoes.

The Out of Office sneaker: American rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, actor, and fashion designer Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi, known by his stage name Kid Cudi, revisited the 2021 sneaker in three versions. In his clip, he admits to “an obsession with shoes from a very early age,” and that “a great pair of sneakers make me feel invincible.” As “a quintessential part of an outfit, it can make or break” it.

The Varsity jacket: Designer and founder of the Paris-based fashion label and retailer Pigalle, Stéphane Ashpool telegraphed his long-standing, deep relationship with Abloh on the Varsity jacket.

The hoodie: Revisited by Japanese designer Yuta Hosokawa, a founder and designer of upcycling brand Readymade, and cofounder of vintage style streetwear label Saint Mxxxxx, also known as Saint Michael, the hoodie “expresses its perfection differently in each moment,” he said.

Denim: The mastermind behind the cult Los Angeles streetwear label 424, Guillermo Andreade in his clip said that denim “lends itself to morph, you use it over and over and over again, you rip a pair of jeans, you stitch it up, you keep going, it’s my personal life story. I can really connect to that, one little cut is not going to stop me. Matter of fact, rip it more, let’s go deeper, let’s fix it later. I can’t think of any sector of clothing that its value goes up when it gets destroyed.”

Eyewear: Renell Medrano, a New York City-based photographer and director, as well as founder of the creative community Ice Studios, is a collector of glasses, as she admits in her clip.

Fine Print, the Off-White visual and graphic language:  Bafic, the London-based photographer, director and multidisciplinary artist who works across film, photography and digital media, employed his signature convention-challenging visual structures to evolve the Off-White language.

Objects: Multihyphenate member of famed hip-hop collective A$AP Mob, Tariq Amar Devega, known by his stage name A$AP Nast, paid homage to Abloh’s ability to multitask with his own version of a clock.

The Off-White fashion collections are designed by Ibrahim IB Kamara, art and image director, who joined the brand in 2022.

While not disclosing sales figures, Fagnani said “business is growing and is resilient, we see positive indicators.” As an example, he said the company has registered a shoes sell-through of 80 percent with Nordstrom.

Fagnani underscored that Off-White is designed in Milan, where 120 employees work on product style and development, merchandising, sales and marketing.

“Bluestar has really been protecting the integrity of the brand, the people and the organization,” he said.

Under the new owner,  footwear is licensed to BBC; kids and menswear to Centric Brands; womenswear to Mamiye Brothers, and accessories to Sportlux. Eyewear is produced by London-based Mondottica.

Bluestar Alliance, founded by Gabbay and Ralph Gindi in 2006, owns, manages and markets a portfolio of consumer brands ranging from Hurley, Scotch & Soda and Bebe, to Elie Tahari, Kensie, Justice, Catherine Malandrino, Nanette Lepore, English Laundry, Brookstone, Joan Vass, Dickies and Limited Too, with over $13 billion in global retail sales.  The company manages a growing branded retail platform of over 500 stores throughout North America, Europe, Australia, South America, Asia, the United Arab Emirates, the Middle East, and India. In 2025, Bluestar Alliance acquired Palm Angels, founded by Francesco Ragazzi, from NGG (New Guards Group), which was also the Off-White licensee.