Virgil Abloh’s Off-White is one of the hottest brands making noise is not just in the space of fashion but accessories and now with talks of a potential Ikea collaboration, furniture. Off-White’s latest collaboration comes in the form of a premium luggage collection with world-renowned luxury luggage company Rimowa. This is a big step in the right direction for both companies.
Off-White who is coming off a stellar 2017 and 2018 with one of the biggest streetwear collaborations of the last year with its ‘The Ten’ collection with Nike. Off-White in the last year has grown immensely from their use of safety tape designs for their belts and the use of black and white striped printing on the back of their garments. They are currently one of the hottest brands within streetwear with everyone just waiting to see what Virgil Abloh will do next with his brand and if it will take a back seat after recently being appointed men’s artistic director of Louis Vuitton. With Virgil making strides not just for the world of streetwear in high fashion but for African Americans within high fashion many are watching his every move to see what he will do next to impact the culture he has been able to grow so quickly in.
Luxury luggage company Rimowa is also making huge strides in its collaborations with streetwear with this most recent Off-White collection of luggage and packing bags with Virgil’s signature words with quotations around them in the Helvetica font. Rimowa in the last year has cemented itself as the go-to luggage brand of streetwear aficionados. The way Rimowa has been able to accomplish this feat in a world where people care about having all aspects of their lifestyle fit their personal clothing style is through, obviously collaborations. Over the past year, they have collaborated with Los Angeles streetwear label Anti Social Social Club on a collection consisting of their Essential suitcase and apparel including a t-shirt, hoodie and a hat all emblazoned with the Rimowa logo. Their next even more hyped collaboration within the world of streetwear was their much anticipated with possibly the biggest streetwear brand in the world today, New York City’s very own Supreme. The collection with Supreme consisted of two different suitcases one traditionally sized suitcase with the signature Supreme box logo all over the suitcase in a black and red colorway and a carry-on suitcase with the same design. Both of these collaborations for Rimowa sold out within seconds of both their online and in-store releases, with the Supreme collaboration selling for prices of around 5,000 dollars on the second-hand market.
With both of these collaborations working out probably beyond Rimowa’s expectations naturally, their next step would be to join forces with another streetwear giant just to further establish themselves as the premier luggage brand to fans of street fashion and culture. I don’t think their collaboration with Off-White will be able to attain the same hype and buzz as their collaboration with Supreme. But having already seen the impact a collaboration with Off-White could have on the overall success of a brand and it’s products I think Rimowa is definitely headed in the right direction.
The product that Off-White and Rimowa are releasing is an interesting take on the average person’s perception of what personal luggage would be. The carry-on luggage is composed of a transparent polycarbonate that allows anyone that might see your luggage to see exactly what you have within your suitcase. This offers a new commentary on the lack of privacy that people face in society today from government surveillance and the overexposure of people’s personal lives on social media.
