The radical refinement of Off-White and Liya Kebede

Last Updated: 31 March 2021

In a matter of years — eight, to be exact — Off-White has helped redefine and shift notions of ‘luxury’, not only for Gen Z and

millennials, but the fashion industry as a whole.

Seamlessly marrying laidback fluid cuts with sophisticated but sculptural accessories, and meticulous design references, Abloh’s brand maintains its position as a future-facing cross-generational luxury house that continues to tread the delicate line between conceptuality and practicality. With its long-standing relevance and relationship with global youth culture, Off-White’s success lies in its ability to continue innovating season after season, shapeshifting preconceived notions of what a luxury fashion house looks like today, attracting a broad global audience of loyal followers and cultivating 11 million Instagram followers in the process.

And the hype exists for a reason. When the brand first entered the industry in 2012, the landscape was starkly different. Using his finger-to-the-wind ability to read and reflect the wants, desires, fears and aspirations of the youth, as well as the discerning traditional luxury consumer, Abloh’s cross-cultural vision at Off-White has become a vital talisman of the power and success of inclusivity in action.

Crystallized in this special creative collaboration betweenVogue Italiaand Off-White — which is the first in the brand’s history — industry veteran and Abloh-favourite Liya Kebede was shot by a team of creatives who had never worked together before, art directed by Vogue Italia, which included Nigeria-raised New York-based photographer Davey Adesida, New York-based stylist Matt Holmes and cinematographer Teddy Nelson.

“Off-White has created an important space in fashion that I am happy to now be a part of,” says Matt Holmes, who previously styled Amandla Stenberg for the cover of TIME magazine, “Virgil's clothing for Off-White is not only memorable, but also covetable outside of the fashion sphere. I always look up to those who want to speak in other industries and look at new ways of bringing new narratives into fashion.”For Adesida, a last-minute decision to move the shoot indoors because of the brisk New York weather proved to be fruitful. “I was able to capture Liya in the studio with the most beautiful natural light shining through the windows” he says, adding “It’s funny how sometimes a change of plans can really lead to the best pictures, and I was lucky to work with a team that really believed in my vision, and were happy to pivot as the day called for.”

Having never met Matt or Liya before (Adesida gushes that he was “a long time fan of their work” and “super excited to collaborate with them”), he describes Liya as “incredible to work with” and “a beauty inside and out”. “It’s truly a different experience working with a top model like her and I hope we have the chance to work together again soon.”

Liya’s relationship with Off-White was cemented when she walked for the brand’s Fall/Winter 19 runway show. Abloh enthuses “Liya is a living icon”, “she represents a symbol of strength, poise, beauty and diversity in an industry longing for change – and is beyond a muse for me and Off-White™ the label.”Reflecting on the industry’s newfound appreciation of inclusivity, Kebede recounts a time when, in the early days of her career in 2000, “it was kind of strange to experience complete non-inclusiveness”, “there was only one girl on the catwalk, and I became that one girl. But since then, it’s been incredible to see the change and the differences that have happened. I feel like Bethann [Hardison] definitely made a huge difference when she highlighted this issue.”

But today, the changes can be seen and felt. “There’s a lot of wonderful girls, and gender-wise, it’s a new world now – and it’s wonderful to see this incredible inclusiveness” she says, “At one point I thought it might just be a trend but now it’s really settling in, and the Black Lives Matter movement is definitely settling in these things and it’s become more of a norm.” With a two-decade long career in the fashion industry, Kebede is optimistic about what the future holds, “Inclusivity is something that should have happened a long time ago, and for me, it’s sad that we’re only now thinking about this. Inclusivity, togetherness and connectedness is all we have, and everyone has to make an effort to put aside our differences and really look at what connects us, we’re all so connected and we’re one – the quicker we can see that, the better world we can create in terms of equality, acceptance and tolerance for all.”