50 Shades Of White

Milan-based streetwear label Off-White c/o Virgil Abloh – the brainchild of Kanye West’s right-hand man – opens its first standalone store in Singapore. Here’s why you should visit right now. By SARA WEE

Kendall Jenner in an Off-White bomber jacket with signature white stripes.

The oneshoulder tailored jacket is a key Off-White F/W ’16 look.

“I like that there’s a sense of discovery every time you turn a corner,” says Virgil of the newly opened Off-White retail space, “Windows”, in Singapore – its first in Southeast Asia, and its third standalone store in the world. Despite being called “Windows”, only a small part of the store’s starkly minimalist gallery-like interior can be glimpsed from the outside through tiny glass panes front and side. Think polished grey concrete flooring, Barrisol ceiling spotlights, and removable clothing racks. The rest is blocked out by thick concrete walls.

Off-White lies in the middle of two fashion extremes, bridging the gap between luxury apparel and streetwear – a juxtaposition of conceptual fashion and what people actually wear. That’s why you’ll find a bright red unfinished lab coat hanging next to slouchy black hoodies, and sneakers sitting next to high heels.

“It’s important to speak to different customers at the same time,” Virgil explains. Thus, the clothes here are not arranged by which gender they’re meant for, which is a smart move on his part – customers are more likely to browse through every rack, and discover finds such as metallic bomber jackets, one-shoulder jackets, and voluminous wide-legged pants with paper-bag waists. Still not sure what to go for? Casual parkas, denim jeans, or hoodies with his signature diagonal stripes are bestsellers.

For those who can’t get enough of the comfy-meets-cool streetwear aesthetic, we have good news – according to Virgil, it’s not going anywhere any time soon. He says: “Streetwear won’t be a phase if I have anything to do with it. I believe in it and all signs are pointing to it – this is the new luxury.”

This S/S ’17 street-meetscouture look features an army surplus parka with a dramatic cascading train.

The 1,507 sq ft store in the heart of Orchard Road features glass panes, thick aggregate concrete walls, a polished concrete floor and Barrisol ceiling spotlights.

WHO IS VIRGIL ABLOH?

He is Kanye West’s creative director, an architect, a DJ (since high school), and founder of fashion label Off-White c/o Virgil Abloh. The multihyphenate is probably one of the busiest men in fashion. He spends more time in the air than on the ground, hasn’t had a holiday in three years, and the one thing he’s bad at? Sleep. But his hard work has paid off– in just three years, Off-White evolved from a small slogan teefocused label to a full-fledged fashion label showing in Paris. Its designs also got him nominated as one of the top eight finalists for the prestigious 2015 LVMH Young Designer Prize (the judges included established fashion designers such as Karl Lagerfeld of Fendi and Phoebe Philo of Celine).