As profiled earlier this week, Virgil Abloh has been at it for a longtime. The multitalented creative has birthed brands before Off-White and assisted Kanye West with some of his most celebrated projects.
While not everyone was able to score his heralded Nike collection, “The 10,” there’s a hoard of items associated with the famed designer that date back further than this year and are collectibles or wearables in their own right.
Peep a few of our favorites below.
A$AP Mob x RSVP Gallery Coaches Jacket
Get emotional over fonts? The A$AP Mob x RSVP Gallery Coaches Jacket is still scary good. While the street goth garb and anarchy association first propelled by the A$AP Mob has been bitten more than Kristen Stewart in Twilight, this piece from Flacko and Co.’s come up is as spooky and still good as his first mixtape.
Pyrex Vision Flannel
How much is an idea worth? Such became a very public and divided debate when the Pyrex Vision Flannel was exposed as a screen printed take on discounted Ralph Lauren Rugby releases. The funny thing though? It doesn’t seem like Virgil was ever trying to hide it.
Positioning a concept that was both original and duplicatable at the same time, screen printing on tried and true items rarely met with big branding created the capital and foundation for what is now Off-White and countless other entities inspired by this piece.
Pastelle Varsity Jacket
The Pastelle Varsity Jacket is to streetwear culture now as the Air Jordan 1 KO was to day 1 sneakerheads on NikeTalk 15 years ago. Designed for an icon and mysterious in both availability and meaning, we don’t know if this piece will ever truly see the light of day but serves as a unicorn sighting anytime its worn or pictured.
Pyrex Vision Religon Hoody
There’s a reason the Air Jordan 1 is bigger than the Reebok Question: it led to something bigger. And that’s no disrespect to Bubba Chuck, one of the best players and style purveyors the world has ever seen. The Air Jordan 1 and the lineage it created is just that big and that good. Countless other athlete lines had solid starts but eventually fizzled out, AJ is three decades strong.
Such could be the case for the Pyrex Vision Religion Hoody. Worn religiously by the likes of Kanye West, Jay Z and Kendrick Lamar when it launched, it was imitated even more from its painting placement on the front to its jersey shirt stamping on the back.
Every streetwear brand has its major moment hoody, but what could make this one more memorable in the future is it looks like it has potential to be placed at the beginning of something big.
Off-White x Levi’s Jean Jacket
Adding his own flair to Americana, the Off-White x Levi’s Jean Jacket may be even more timeless than that of Virgil’s Air Jordan 1. A strong silencer to loud critics hating on Off-White’s big branding and bigger price tags, this Levi’s launch was exactly what Off-White is all about: being young, fresh, genderless and deviating from the norm just enough.
Been Trill x 40 oz Van Snapback
Hashtag branding may have worn itself out faster than the hashtag flow, but poking fun at digital swag stamping was always at the heart of Been Trill. While collaborations with Hood by Air or even Chief Keef were of the moment, the 40 oz. Van snapbacks were all the rage, proving the accessible must have item to wear at a concert or a campout that year.
Off-White x IKEA Bag
In an airport style landscape (shoutout to Chromeo) where Louis Vuitton trunks and Gucci carry-ons still hold weight both literally and figuratively, isn’t walking through TSA with an Off-White x IKEA Bag really what Virgil wanted all along?
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy Vinyl Set
If there’s one Kanye West album to have on vinyl it’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Full in sound, long in play and without filler, West’s most celebrated album is exactly that for its sonic excellence.
Teaming up with George Condo for a variety of cover art takes, Virgil Abloh’s creative direction is seen all over its vinyl set made larger than life. If you’re more into wearing stuff, the scarves RSVP Gallery did to celebrate the landmark album are pretty damn good, too.
Off-White Jeans
In an interview with The Fader years ago, Virgil spoke on how music moves the needle on denim and the aesthetic of skinny jeans not always agreeing with the function of hopping into the back of a cab. Hate it or love it, Abloh achieved this with Off-White denim. The over the crotch branding or striped hits on the branding may read as tacky to some, but they’re damn sure unique to his line. While denim has long mattered in head to toe fashion, very rarely have jeans been the statement piece of an outfit. One could say Virgil changed that.
Travis Scott Birds Eye View Tour Sweatshirt
Talk to any kid under the age of 22 and they’ll tell you Birds In the Trap Sing McKnight isn’t just one of the best albums of last year but one of the best albums ever. Woah, high praise.
Opening for La Flame in NYC as a DJ, Virgil also designed tour merch for said show. His connection to music and integration into his aesthetic choices is a key component in his relevance and reign.
