Virgil Abloh (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)
#Roommates, Virgil Abloh is one of the biggest names within the world of fashion, courtesy of his incredibly popular brand Off-White and more recent gig as Artistic Director of Louis Vuitton—and he just recently finalized his biggest fashion accomplishment yet. It was recently announced that powerhouse luxury goods conglomerate LVMH has just acquired majority stake in Off-White, which is set to make Virgil Abloh one of the most powerful Black fashion designers.
@NewYorkTimes reports, in a surprise announcement, LVMH confirmed that it has officially acquired a 60% stake in Virgil Abloh’s Off-White fashion brand that he created back in 2013. Virgil, 40, will retain a 40% stake in the company and assume an expanded role at LVMH—easily making him one of the most powerful and influential Black people in the elite world of fashion in less than 10 years.
In his expanded role, Virgil will work across various categories underneath the LVMH umbrella, including Wine and Spirits (LVMH owns Krug, Dom Pérignon and Hennessy, among 30 brands) and Hospitality (more than 50 hotels, including the Cipriani in Venice, Italy and Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in Oxfordshire, England.) He will also stay on as Louis Vuitton’s Artistic Director of Menswear.
Speaking about the history-making business deal, Virgil Abloh expressed his excitement:
“I’m getting a seat at the table. I’m incredibly excited to work together with LVMH on other possible collaborations—an evolution of the great relationship I have had with LVMH, Bernard Arnault, Michael Burke at Louis Vuitton, and others. I’m also honored to use this partnership to deepen my longstanding commitment to expand opportunities for diverse individuals and foster greater equity and inclusion in the industries we serve. This is an incredible new platform to take the disruption we’ve achieved together to a whole new level.”
Similarly, Chief Executive of Louis Vuitton, Michael Burke, also acknowledged the significance of the partnership and noted that it will “shake up” the industry. Despite the pandemic financially stifling many businesses, LVMH recently noted a 60% increase in shares so far this year and up 30% from early 2020 before COVID-19 changed things forever.
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