Virgil Abloh Talks OFF-BLACK & Working With Hiroshi Fujiwara
Abloh sits down with Style.com to talk about the streetwear godfather, Japanese fashion and more.
Coinciding with this weekend’s collaborative release, Virgil Abloh sat down with Style.com to talk OFF-BLACK, his brand new capsule collection alongside Hiroshi Fujiwara. On the eve of the range’s launch, Abloh discussed working with the godfather of streetwear, the concept behind OFF-BLACK, the collab’s design elements, the influence of Japanese streetwear, and more. While an excerpt appears below, the interview can be read in its entirety over at Style.com. OFF-BLACK — crafted for the POOL aoyama’s “MELANISM” concept — is now available in-store while supplies last.
How did the project come about?
This project with Hiroshi Fujiwara came about in the most organic way. We simply met for tea on a trip to Japan after I had met him and Chitose Abe from Sacai in the lobby of my hotel. Both of them being huge inspirations in how I understand culture and design, it was an honor to cross paths.
What does it mean to you to work with Hiroshi Fujiwara?
It’s an absolute honor. As a fan of streetwear, I knew his contemporary work in the early 2000s, but it was enhanced by a recent gallery project I took part in; my work was curated next to the Malcolm McLaren estate in Copenhagen in 2014. When drawing comparison between the work done around fashion, music, and the arts, I was inspired to learn Hiroshi’s connection with Malcom McLaren. Their influence had a lasting impact. That link has had a dramatic effect on trends, street culture, and the arts alone to this day.
Why did you want to spin off Off-White into Off-Black c/o Virgil Abloh? Will this collection continue, or is the plan to make it a covetable one-off?
The challenge of Off-Black was the initial concept to explore another spirit of my label Off-White. Further information on future iterations of the concept is unknown, but we are stressing the importance with the launch that the concept is alive.
