I
t’s London Fashion Week and designer-cum-style icon
Justin O’Shea is stood against a brick wall having his photo
taken – not by paparazzi but to gain entry to the Nike x
Off-White ‘Off Campus’ event in East London. Wearing
an NFL Raiders bomber jacket, he’s holding a motorcycle
helmet in one hand and a snapped pencil in the other.
“I had to break it in two,” says O’Shea, who’s here to interview his
good friend, Off-White designer Virgil Abloh. “It didn’t fit in my
pocket and I was on the bike.” O’Shea then pulls out a pocket-sized
Chateau Marmont notepad, looks at us and nods – he’s prepped.
As we wait, Parisian car dealer and Abloh’s best mate, Arthur Kar,
says hello the French way, so too Acyde Odunlami of label No
Vacancy Inn. The place is a hive of style and creativity.
Abloh, in a chessboard Off-White jacket, shredded light jeans and
black Nike sneakers (what else?), comes over to chat. He’s all hugs, but
tells us – in the most delightfully polite way – he needs to postpone.
Tomorrow, 9am, at London’s Chiltern Firehouse, then.
Take two, O’Shea’s in a black top that says ‘Hey, I work out’. The
Chiltern Firehouse is equally buzzing with creative influence, as we
greet designer Jonathan Saunders, and Davide De Giglio and Andrea
Grilli of New Guards Group (the fashion house that owns brands
including Off-White). De Giglio looks concerned.
“Guys, Virg was DJing til late... He hasn’t checked his WhatsApp
since 4:30am.” Being given the runaround has never been so much fun.
Take three – Abloh’s atelier in Milan. O’Shea’s tracked down the
self-confessed “happy-go-lucky kid who wanted to be like Michael
Jordan”. And, finally, we’re off.Justin O’Shea: Are people born creative?
Virgil Abloh: Some are born with a fire to create and others
aren’t. I come up with 300 ideas and I weave them together.
JOS: How would you describe your approach to life?
VA: It sounds corny but I’m always focused on getting the most out of
the day. In school, I wasn't going to be the best, but I always thought
I had a unique ability to listen to not only what someone’s saying but
also why they’re saying it.
JOS: What’s your greatest achievement been so far?
VA: There’s no better achievement than having confidence. And you
don’t get confidence by thinking – you get it by executing ideas.
JOS: How do you channel these ideas?
VA: I iterate. I’m my own devil’s advocate. So I think of things, and
then within the second of thought, I have a filter that says whether
or not to execute that idea.
JOS: Where did the name Off-White come from?
VA: I was looking for a word that was nondescript, where the work
would define what it was. That’s where I started from and I thought
that colour was great. Wordplays have always been my thing. So now,
someone says Off-White thinking of the colour it might invoke,
but it’s the same rational to the branding.
JOS: Why did you want to start your Off-White x Nike project in
New York and London?
VA: The next generation is going to overtake me. The next designer
that’s going to be relevant is probably a younger friend of mine. I like
to foster that, instead of revolting against that. I’m all about coexisting
with the generation that’s going to take you over.