Off-White Debuts Jazz-Inspired Collection
Off-White's Fall 2026 Ready-to-Wear collection debuted at Paris Fashion Week, with designer IB Kamara channeling the improvisational spirit of jazz into the brand's signature street-luxury aesthetic. The show underscores fashion's cross-pollination with Black art forms and music culture. Meanwhile, Costco selling Off-White hoodies went viral but drew backlash as "not real Off-White" post-LVMH sale.
The new collection, titled "Mr. Davis," is a direct homage to jazz legend Miles Davis, particularly his experimental and genre-bending album *Bitches Brew*. Designer Ib Kamara also drew inspiration from the powerful and unapologetic style of musician Betty Davis, Miles's wife, who was a significant influence on his artistic disruption. The collection explores this duality, mixing sharp tailoring with fluid silhouettes in menswear and celebrating sensual, empowered shapes in womenswear. Before his passing in 2021, Off-White's founder Virgil Abloh, the son of Ghanaian immigrants, fundamentally shifted fashion by merging streetwear with high luxury. As the first African-American artistic director for Louis Vuitton's menswear, he broke significant barriers. Abloh often compared his creative process to a hip-hop artist sampling tracks and used Off-White as a platform to champion Black creatives and challenge the industry's exclusionary norms. The brand's ownership has recently shifted. In late 2024, LVMH sold its majority stake in Off-White to Bluestar Alliance, a New York-based brand management firm. The sale was announced on what would have been Virgil Abloh's 44th birthday. This move has raised questions about the future of Off-White's luxury positioning, as Bluestar's portfolio includes more mass-market brands like Hurley and Scotch & Soda. The sale to Bluestar followed a period where Off-White, under Ib Kamara's direction, struggled to maintain the cultural relevance it held under Abloh. Critics have expressed concern that broader distribution under Bluestar could dilute the brand's carefully crafted identity. The brand's licensing agreement with New Guards Group is also up for renegotiation in 2026, adding another layer of uncertainty to its future direction. The Costco hoodies, which appeared in Canadian warehouses, were priced at approximately $63 USD, a steep discount from the typical retail price of around $795 USD for similar items. These hoodies were produced in Vietnam, a departure from Off-White's usual manufacturing in Italy, which likely accounts for the significant price difference. The appearance of the luxury streetwear brand in a wholesale warehouse sparked conversations on social media, with some fans seeing it as a sign of the brand's decline since Virgil Abloh's death.
