"Keep your feet steady," our sub-conscious whispered to us as news broke that Off/White designer Virgil Abloh is collaborating with Nike. "Oh, shit," replied our wallets. During his "Young Architects Can Change the World Without Building Buildings" lecture at Columbia University last night, Abloh spoke on many topics, such as his own background in architecture, streetwear, the world of faux-luxury products, and then chucked a pair of Nikes into the audience to announce the collaboration. For those of you who aren't familiar with the denim revolutionary, Abloh was formerly Kanye West's creative director; he later branched off to start his own line, Off/White. So, yeah, for all you sneakerheads out there, this is pretty major news.
But it's not just a big deal because of Abloh's front row seat at West's table. Nor is it because of how talented he is (though that's obviously part of what makes this collaboration so epic). Rather, it's because after in-law Kylie Jenner's collaboration with Puma, and now Abloh's partnership with another of his direct competitors, we can't help but wonder how West is handling the news, considering he is the Yeezus behind Yeezy at Adidas and all. But, hey, even though West has proven to have a bit of a short fuse at times, we're sure it's nothing but love between the two. As for Abloh, it seems the designer's had his head in the game for quite some time.
Of the project, Abloh told the talk's attendees, "This is what I am attempting to do with streetwear, nudging it forward. If I were to say, ‘Close your eyes and imagine Off-White Air Forces,’ you would have imagined diagonal stripes, which is great — and exactly what I won’t do," he explained. He went on to refer to his next venture as, “an opportunity to create a new layer and vocabulary.” And that's cool and all, but what will it look like? According to WWD, the shoe is a pair of "white high-top Nike Blazers with a deformed navy swoosh," and "both shoes were stamped on the side with 'Off-White c/o Nike.'" Fresh to death, duh.
The release date has yet to be announced, but the designer also teased a book and furniture projects to come soon, as well. And for now, that's all the Abloh news we have for today, so you're all going to have to go back to your desks and day dream of what will become of this killer partnership. We'll keep you posted on their arrival.
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