The company was first founded as "PYREX VISION" by Virgil Abloh in the Italian city of Milan in 2012, which was abandoned after Pyrex Vision came under criticism after printing "PYREX 23" on the classic Ralph Lauren rugby flannel silhouette, and reselling them for a premium $550 price tag. Abloh then rebranded the company as Off-White, which he describes as "the grey area between black and white as the color off-white" to the fashion world. It has shown collections at Paris Fashion Week shows, and is sold in retail stores in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Milan, London and New York. In August 2019, José Neves, owner of Farfetch, purchased New Guards Group, the parent organization of Off-White for US$675 million.
Collaborations
Off-White has collaborated with brands and designers such as Nike, Levi, Rimowa, Jimmy Choo, IKEA, Moncler, Browns, Warby Parker, SSENSE, Sunglass Hut, Champion, Évian, Converse, Dr. Martens, Barneys New York, Umbro, Timberland, Takashi Murakami, Heron Preston, ASAP Rocky, Byredo, Boys Noize and Le Bon Marché. In Fall 2016, and Winter 2017, the company collaborated with Levi's main line, Made & Crafted, and released twelve pieces, six of which were unisex. In early 2017, the company collaborated with Nike and worked on a project named "", which is a sneaker collection featuring Air Jordans, Converse, Nike Air Max, Nike Air Force One, and Nike Blazers shoes. The collaborations shoe line was divided into two categories, the "Revealing" and "Ghosting". The Off-White and Nike designers had an updated take on Nineties-style shoes, with various patterns and different types of material such as plastic and tulle. In 2017, the company collaborated with Champion developing sixteen items of clothing, including tracksuits, hoodies, fleeces, and t-shirts. In August 2017, the company also collaborated with A$AP Rocky with his label AWGE. In 2018, the company partnered with Jimmy Choo to create a Summer/Spring collection inspired by Lady Diana, former Princess of Wales. In April 2018, the company collaborated with Ikea on furniture targeted towards millennials. In Fall 2018 and Winter 2019, the company collaborated with Sunglass Hut on a unisex line of sunglasses called "For Your Eyes Only". In March 2019, the company collaborated with SSENSE on a range of workout clothes. On June 5, 2018, the company released its collaboration with Rimowa, a transparent suitcase in limited edition. Following the success of the collaboration, a second collection including two RIMOWA x Off-White transparent suitcases is launched in October 2018. In June 2019, the company collaborated with the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, to create a new bluecolor of the Nike Air Force One.
