Off-White CEO on Developing Brand’s New Codes of Luxury

執行長開發自家品牌的新密碼

Off-White由才華橫溢的Virgil Abloh於2013年創立。這位美國設計師既是建築系碩士生，也是一名DJ，更是著名的Kanye West的創意總監。他以都市奢華風格驚艷了眾人，並且「以典雅方法演繹當代風尚」，設計出一件又一件備受追捧的作品。

現階段CEO 執行長Andrea Grilli

In an exclusive interview, Andrea Grilli discusses the brand's development, and the expansion of its product offer as well as its retail and digital distribution.

在一次獨家採訪中，Andrea Grilli談到了該品牌的發展，以及擴大其產品供應，以及零售和數字分銷。

[微風]The Off-White flagship in Paris.

巴黎旗艦店[微風]

MILAN — It’s a 「super exciting」 moment for Off-White, according to chief executive officer Andrea Grilli.

米蘭 － 這是一個「超級激動人心」的地方。據Off－White執行長Andrea Grilli說。

The brand, launched by Virgil Abloh in 2014, and its licensee New Guards Group have been through quite an evolution. 「We』ve been setting up new divisions, with a stricter control of the brand and there’s been a shift from a wholesale to a direct-to-consumer distribution,」 said Grilli in an exclusive interview, noting that Off-White has been shedding some of its streetwear associations developing 「the new codes of luxury,」 while focusing on 「unexpected collaborations」 and staying true to the essence and creativity of the brand.

該品牌由維吉爾·阿布洛2014年，其持牌人新衛士集團已經經歷了相當大的演變。Grilli在接受獨家採訪時說：「我們已經建立了新的部門，對品牌進行了更嚴格的控制，已經從批發向直接面向消費者的分銷轉變，Off-White一直在減少一些街頭服飾協會開發「新的奢侈規範」，同時專注於「意想不到的合作」，並忠於品牌的本質和創造力。

Off-White has also gone through some major direct and indirect changes since its launch. As reported, in May LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton bolstered its relationship with Abloh beyond just the fashion division and the French luxury conglomerate raised its stake in Off-White LLC, the trademark owner of Abloh’s Off-White brand, to 60 percent. Abloh retained a 40 percent interest and remains creative director of the label. Abloh is also artistic director of men’s wear collections at Louis Vuitton, a post he has held since March 2018.

Off-White自推出以來也經歷了一些重大的直接和間接變化：據報導，5月份LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton加強了與Abloh的關係，不僅僅是局限於時尚部門。

這家法國奢侈品企業集團增持了OFF-White有限責任公司的股份。將Abloh的off-white品牌的商標所有者OFF-White LLC的持股比例提高至60%。Abloh保留了40%的利息，他仍然是品牌的創意總監，Abloh也是路易威登男裝系列的藝術總監。他自2018年3月以來一直擔任這一職務。

The Milan-based New Guards Group was sold to Farfetch in 2019 for $675 million and this was also a key element in Off-White’s evolution into a more digital brand. 「Digital was our Achille’s heel,」 recalled Grilli. Now, an increasingly fundamental element for business, this channel has seen a double-digit growth.

以米蘭為基地的新衛隊集團於2019年以6.75億美元的價格出售給了法費爾德，這也是Off White向更數位化品牌發展的關鍵因素。

「數位化是我們阿喀琉斯之踵（Achilles' Heel），」格里利回憶道。現在，這個渠道對商業來說是一個日益重要的因素，它已經實現了兩位數的增長。

ps:

[微風][微風]

阿喀琉斯之踵（Achilles' Heel），原指阿喀琉斯的腳後跟，因是其身體唯一一處沒有浸泡到冥河水的地方，成為他唯一的弱點。阿喀琉斯後來在特洛伊戰爭中被毒箭射中腳踝而喪命。現引申為致命的弱點，要害。[微風][微風]

繼續文本

Off-White does not reveal financial details, but Grilli reiterated that the brand has the potential to reach revenues of 1 billion euros in a five to 10 year time frame. 「We are on track to reach this goal,」 he said, underscoring continued growth even through the pandemic year-on-year since 2019. 「Off-White never stopped growing and this is a matter of pride and joy for Virgil,」 Grilli said.

Off－White沒有透露財務細節，但Grilli重申，該品牌有潛力在5至10年內達到10億歐元的收入。「我們有望實現這一目標，」他說，強調了自2019年以來，即使在新冠病毒大流行期間，感染人數一直增長，off-white卻從未停止生長，這是維吉爾的驕傲和喜悅，」格里利說。

He touted the privilege of having 「unbeatable leadership」 at LVMH and Farfetch, which allows constant 「learning lessons and constructive dialogues」 with the likes of Michael Burke, chairman and CEO of Louis Vuitton, for example.

他兜售自己在LVMH&Farfetch集團擁有「無與倫比的領導能力」， 他允許自己不斷地「吸取經驗教訓和參與與路易威登（Louis Vuitton）董事長兼執行長麥可·伯克（Michael Burke）等人建設性的對話」

In the past 12 to 18 months, Off-White has been setting up new divisions and extending its product offer with new categories, such as homeware, children’s wear and eyewear, favoring quality over quantity, Grilli said. None of these are developed through licensing agreements, as is generally customary. New Guards Group has hired more than 100 people in the past year, with many working on Off-White, he said.

Grilli說，在過去的12到18個月裡，Off－White已經建立了新的部門，並擴展了新的產品種類，如家居用品、童裝和眼鏡，質量優於數量。所有這些都不是通過許可證協議制定的。一般都是依照習慣制定的。

他說，在過去的一年裡，New Guards集團已經僱傭了100多人，其中很多人都在off-white工作。

On the occasion of Milan Design Week, Off-White and Ginori 1735 presented a limited-edition capsule that previewed a more extensive partnership to be unveiled in April 2022. The capsule included a full tableware set with dinner plates, serving platters, a teapot and teacup saucer set in black and white graffiti-inspired decors.

在米蘭設計周，off-white和吉諾里1735推出限量版膠囊,並且預告將於2022年4月公布兩者之間更廣泛的合作關係。太空艙里有一套完整的餐具，裡面有餐盤，服務盤，以黑白塗鴉為靈感裝飾的茶壺和茶托。

「With Ginori, its artistic influences and storied expertise, there is an opportunity to further extend the Off-White lifestyle,」 Grilli said. 「We have always believed this was scalable, and two years ago, we tested the market with a few objects that sold out in a week. There was a gap that we knew we could fill. Virgil is a communicator and it’s never a one-way monologue; he listens to the consumers and their expectations.」

格里利說： 有了吉諾里的藝術影響和傳說中的專業知識，有機會進一步延長off-white的生活方式。我們一直認為這是可擴展的，兩年前，我們用一周內售出的幾件物品測試了市場行情。一周內就賣完了幾件東西。

維吉爾是一個溝通者，它從來不是一個單向的獨白者；我們知道我們可以填補這個溝通的障礙缺口。他願意傾聽消費者的期望。

While growing Off-White’s online presence, Grilli has also been spearheading a physical retail development in main capitals, such as a flagship that opened in July in Paris, and in luxury resort locations, such as Sardinia’s Porto Cervo; Forte dei Marmi in Tuscany, and in Ibiza. Stores in Milan and Miami designed by Abloh and AMO, the research and design branch of architecture firm OMA, opened last year.

Grilli在不斷發展Off－White的在線業務的同時，也在一些主要首都率先發展實體零售業務，例如7月份在巴黎開設的旗艦店，以及在一些豪華度假酒店，如撒丁島的Porto Cervo開店；Forte dei Ma托斯卡納和伊比沙島店。由建築公司OMA的研究和設計分部Abloh和AMO設計的米蘭和邁阿密的商店於去年開業。

There are now 60 Off-White stores in the world and more openings are planned in 2022 and 2023 in the U.S. on both the East and West Coasts, said Grilli, citing Los Angeles in particular. Off-White has stores in New York, Miami and Las Vegas, and Grilli said, 「America in the past year has surprised us. It has surpassed the 2019 volumes, supported by local shopping and events.」 He characterized the brand’s markets as being balanced, with the Asia Pacific region, which includes Japan, accounting for almost 30 percent of business. China is 「a priority,」 he said and Off-White is also expanding in the Middle East, opening in Riyadh and in Kuwait, as well as in Russia, in Moscow.

Grilli特別援引洛杉磯的話說，目前世界上有60家off-white商店，計劃在2022年和2023年在美國東西海岸開設更多分店。Off－White在紐約、邁阿密和拉斯維加斯都有分店，Grilli說：「在過去的一年裡，美國給我們帶來了驚喜。在當地購物和活動的支持下，該品牌的市場已經超過了2019年的銷量。他說，中國是「優先考慮的」地區，同時Off－White也在中東擴張，在沙烏地阿拉伯的利雅得、以及俄羅斯的首都莫斯科都有業務。

The executive emphasized the need to become more 「local」 with relevant events in specific areas, and even more so after the pandemic. 「Exclusive collections for single cities, micro capsules, destined to stimulate the store more than the city are key and offering an exclusive product to the consumer is a must.」 Collaborations such as pairing with Nike are also incredible boosters, he said.

該主管強調，需要在特定領域的相關活動中變得更加「地方性」，在新冠疫情之後更是如此。「針對單一城市的獨家系列，比如微膠囊店，關鍵是要刺激商店超越城市，提供獨家產品給消費者是必須的。與耐克的合作中他談到，這也是不可思議的助推器。

Involving the entire pipeline, from the supply chain to marketing, this time-to-market strategy, though challenging, has been paying off with 「excellent results,」 Grilli said.

Grilli說，從供應鏈到營銷，這一次的市場戰略雖然具有挑戰性，但卻取得了「優異的效果」。

In February, Off-White staged a fashion show and live performances at a Milan industrial venue to reveal the spring 2021 collection through a global digital event, dubbed 「Imaginary TV,」 and skipped Paris Fashion Week, where it had regularly shown. In July, it returned to Paris staging its first physical runway event in 16 months with a performance by M.I.A.

今年2月，Off－White在米蘭的一個工業場館舉辦了一場時裝秀和現場表演，通過一個被稱為「假想電視」的全球數字活動展示2021年春季系列，並跳過了巴黎時裝周，在那裡它定期展出。今年7月，它重返巴黎，舉辦了16個月來的首次實體店跑道活動秀，並由M．I．A.表演。

Asked about the next step, Grilli demurred from revealing where and how the next Off-White collection will be shown. 「We are working on the calendar and defining the show,」 he said.

當被問及下一步的計劃時，格里里表示不願意透露下一個Off-White (非白色)系列的展示地點和方式，他說：「我們正在制定日程表，並確定展覽的主題。」

He said Off-White is also aiming for its women’s wear to become as relevant as its men’s ready-to-wear and that shoes and sneakers are among the most important categories for the brand.

他說，Off－White的目標也是讓它的女裝與男裝一樣具有關聯性，鞋子和運動鞋是該品牌最重要的部分。

Davide De Giglio holds the role of chairman and CEO of New Guards Group, which comprises brands such as Palm Angels, Ambush, Alanui, Opening Ceremony, Heron Preston, Marcelo Burlon County of Milan, Kirin Peggy Gou and Ben Taverniti Unravel Project.

戴維德·吉格里奧（Davide Giglio）擔任新衛士集團（New Guards Group）董事長兼執行長。集團旗下擁有眾多品牌：Palm Angels, Ambush,阿拉努伊 ,開幕式，Heron Preston，Marcelo Burlon County of Milan，Kirin Peggy Gou和Ben Taverniti Unravel項目。