Off-White: an Instagram story
In less than 10years Off-White became one of the most influent luxury brand. The brand with more than 11 million followers on Instagram has even become a reference in terms of fashion.
In 2013 after he shuttered his first project Pyrex Vision, Virgil Abloh founded Off-White in Milan, Italy. With his brand, Abloh re-writes the rules by combining streetwear with luxury “I decided if ‘streetwear’ was gonna be the sign of the times, I was gonna define it rather than be defined by it”. Abloh has a strong presence on Instagram and he communicates a lot on this social media as he declared in an interview for Fast Company magazine in June 2016 “I make Instagram my own by documenting my creative process” Abloh floods his personal Instagram account -more than 5.8million followers- and the official account of the brand Off-White of photos and stories every day and this type of communication is in accordance with the image of the brand. Effectively we can deduce that the target group of the brand is young adults and so the main users of social media. In this case the use of social media is interesting, in fact Instagram in 2020 was in the United Kingdom the 4th social media the most used by young adults and teenagers. Then, being active on Instagram by posting many photos each day and relaying in stories posts where the brand is mentioned is a good way to retain their followers because the account will always be present in their “feed” and highlighted by Instagram and so attract new followers.
Moreover, Instagram -compared to other social media such as Snapchat, TikTok or even Facebook- is I think more suitable for sharing artistic content as Abloh likes to do.
Nike, Converse, Levi’s, Jimmy Choo, Champion, Timberland… Off-White dares the most diverse and unexpected collaborations. Off-White brings its own touch to create iconic products that ignites the internet and more particularly social media, the proof is that more than twenty pairs of Nike sneakers have been already customized by Abloh.
These successful collaborations relayed by brands on social medias, contributed to the success of Off-White and has enabled the brand to reach new audiences and gain new consumers.
Celebrities also contributed to the success of Off-White, indeed, since its beginnings, many celebrities such as Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Travis Scott, Drake or Rihanna have brought visibility by sharing Off White pieces on their social media. For example, in September 2019, Abloh designed the wedding dress of the model Hailey Bieber for her wedding with the famous singer Justin Bieber, one of the most fashionable couples of the moment. More recently, Off-White in collaboration with Nike dressed the athlete Serena Williams for her cover of Vogue for the month of November 2020. This photo — as Hailey Bieber’s wedding dress — was shared a lot of times which was a great advertisement for the brand.
Off-White has therefore made a name for itself in the hearts of the most appreciated and followed celebrities and what is interesting about working with diverse celebrities is that it allows to reach as many users as possible.
Adulated by the new generation, Off-White is on the rise and believe me, it’s only the beginning…
