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"FacebookPinterestFacebookPinterestFacebookPinterestFacebookPinterestFacebookPinterestFacebookPinterestFacebookPinterestFacebookPinterestFacebookPinterest\n\nVirgil Abloh is more known as one of Kanye West's cohorts and one of the guys behind the Internet inside joke/collective/superbly successful clothing line #BEEN #TRILL. If you're woefully unaware, just ask the nearest teenager to show you his or her Tumblr dashboard. Abloh's also known for his PYREX Vision line, which caught criticism for its high prices juxtaposed with product that simply consisted of screenprinted third-party items like Champion T-shirts, hoodies, and most infamously, repurposed flannels from Rugby Ralph Lauren during the clothing brand's final throes. But before all that, he was a brilliant, super nerdy blogger.\n\nThe term \"brilliant\" isn't used loosely here, Abloh wrote on the cult blog THE BRILLIANCE!, which melded simple design with sharp, snarky writing. He was gushing about German chef knives long before menswear was a Tumblr hashtag. As such, Abloh's nerd cred is undeniable. It harkens back to Donald Glover's bit about \"black nerds,\" which he defines as people who like \"strange, specific stuff.\" That brings us to his newest fashion endeavor, Off-White, which made its debut on style.com earlier today.\n\nIn many ways, Off-White is a spiritual successor to PYREX Vision. Many of the same visual cues are still there\u2014athletic block letters, screenprints on the back of garments that call back to sports jerseys, but the kicker here is that the clothes are all original patterns, and they're made in Italy. What's so \"strange and specific\" about this collection? Abloh cites German architect Mies van der Rohe as an inspiration for one of the more prominent graphics\u2014the number \"13\" encased in a horizontal striped square\u2014which he says was gleaned from the clean lines of van der Rohe's Farnsworth House in Chicago.\n\nThe collection is also called \"Youth Will Always Win,\" which is only slightly different from PYREX Vision's Spring/Summer 2013 offerings, the similarly-titled \"Youth Always Wins,\" which paid homage to Abloh's high school days and the lyrics of rapper Pusha T. While the logo-fication of men's fashion is seen by many as detracting from otherwise beautiful clothes\u2014Off-White's drapey flannels, camo military jackets, and appropriately off-white chore jackets cut a mean silhouette\u2014it's also symbolic of how prevalent branding is in youth culture. After all, it was the '90s that begat Ralph Lauren's \"Big Pony\" era, and labels like DKNY and Tommy Hilfiger enjoyed success derived from literally \"iconic\" clothing as well.\n\nLike Kanye West, Abloh is clearly using his taste and aesthetic sensibilities to push his agenda forward, but this collection looks more influenced by the cultural sampling more associated with streetwear\u2014a hodgepodge of insider references and skate rat staples\u2014than a fully-evolved designer collection with a clear vision. Perhaps that's the point. It's not so much that Abloh sees himself a visionary designer, but more of a conduit for the kind of young culture that fully embraces the ideas and creative spirit of the fashion industry, without having a legitimate foothold in it. As new media consistently proves, if you give them the right platform, the youth will always win."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.gq.com/story/virgil-abloh-off-white-collection-springsummer-2014>