On December 13, the Musée du Louvre and Off-White c/o Virgil Abloh reveal a special collaboration in honor of the much anticipated “Leonardo da Vinci” exhibition, on display at the Louvre until February 24, 2020. To mark the occasion the ready-to-wear brand is releasing a capsule of clothing items celebrating the life and works of the visionary artist, on the 500th anniversary of his death in France.
“I was fascinated with Da Vinci early on - I was in my senior year at Wisconsin, taking an art class. I was super interested not only by his artworks but also by the influence he had in many disciplines besides art: science, engineering, architecture… To me, he symbolizes everything the Renaissance was,” said Virgil Abloh, founder and artistic director of Off-White.
Typical Off-White markings, including logo placement and diamond arrows, are intertwined with the storied paintings of one of the world’s pioneering artists on an offering of t-shirts and hoodies. Among the featured works within the capsule are Da Vinci’s Virgin and Child with Saint John the Baptist and an Angel, known as The Virgin of the Rocks, and Saint Anne, the Virgin Mary, and the Infant Jesus Playing with a Lamb, known as Saint Anne, woven with the master’s iconic drawings, including his anatomical sketches of the male form.
“I want to crash together these two worlds that are seemingly different: fashion and high art.
It’s a crucial part of my overall body of work to prove that any place, no matter how exclusive it seems, is accessible to everyone. That you can be interested in expressing yourself through more than one practice and that creativity does not have to be tied to just one discipline. I think that Leonardo da Vinci was maybe the first artist to live by that principle, and I am trying to as well,” added Virgil Abloh.
“The Louvre has always been a place of life, of inspiration for the creators of each era. We are thrilled to see how the palace and museum collections have inspired Virgil Abloh. Our collaboration with Off-White and this multitalented artist also gives us the opportunity to reach out to a new audience and encourage them to take interest in the Louvre,” said Adel Ziane, Director of External Relations, Musée du Louvre.
The collection will be available in the Louvre gift shop (and online), via Off---White.com and Farfetch.com, and in shops including Off White Paris, Off-White Milan, EM_PTY Gallery, and Browns. Prices will range from 355 - 640 USD.
The capsule imagery was shot inside the Grande Galerie of the Louvre, capturing the immense history celebrated within France’s national museum, while truly connecting this modern collection with its core inspiration, as the Louvre holds the largest collection in the world of Da Vinci’s paintings, alongside 22 drawings.
About Off-White™ c/o Virgil Abloh
Established in 2013, Off-White™ is defining the grey area between black and white as a color. Under the brand name, seasonal collections of men’s and women’s clothing, objects, furniture, and publications are articulating a current culture vision. Collections embedded in a recurrent back story with an emphasis on creating garments that have an identity by design. With a design studio based in Milan, Italy, the label harnesses the history and craftsmanship within the country yet offers a global perspective in terms of design and trends. With a clear vision of splicing the reality of how clothes are worn and the artistic expression of high fashion, creative director and designer Virgil Abloh explores concepts in the realm of youth culture in the contemporary context.
About the Musée du Louvre
Royal palace turned universal museum in 1793, the Louvre has been at the core of French history for over eight centuries. Today, it features some of the finest collections in the world, spanning 9 thousand years and 5 continents. Over 35,000 artworks are grouped into eight curatorial departments, including universallyadmired works such as The Mona Lisa, The Winged Victory of Samothrace, and the Venus de Milo. Guardian of this unique heritage that it shares and perpetuates, the Louvre is the world’s most visited museum: it welcomed more than 10.2 million visitors in 2018.
The Louvre is open every day from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (rooms close at 5.30pm.) except on Tuesdays. Night opening until 9:45 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays. Free admission on the first Saturday of each month from 6 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. More information on: www.louvre.fr/en
“I was fascinated with Da Vinci early on - I was in my senior year at Wisconsin, taking an art class. I was super interested not only by his artworks but also by the influence he had in many disciplines besides art: science, engineering, architecture… To me, he symbolizes everything the Renaissance was,” said Virgil Abloh, founder and artistic director of Off-White.
Typical Off-White markings, including logo placement and diamond arrows, are intertwined with the storied paintings of one of the world’s pioneering artists on an offering of t-shirts and hoodies. Among the featured works within the capsule are Da Vinci’s Virgin and Child with Saint John the Baptist and an Angel, known as The Virgin of the Rocks, and Saint Anne, the Virgin Mary, and the Infant Jesus Playing with a Lamb, known as Saint Anne, woven with the master’s iconic drawings, including his anatomical sketches of the male form.
“I want to crash together these two worlds that are seemingly different: fashion and high art.
It’s a crucial part of my overall body of work to prove that any place, no matter how exclusive it seems, is accessible to everyone. That you can be interested in expressing yourself through more than one practice and that creativity does not have to be tied to just one discipline. I think that Leonardo da Vinci was maybe the first artist to live by that principle, and I am trying to as well,” added Virgil Abloh.
“The Louvre has always been a place of life, of inspiration for the creators of each era. We are thrilled to see how the palace and museum collections have inspired Virgil Abloh. Our collaboration with Off-White and this multitalented artist also gives us the opportunity to reach out to a new audience and encourage them to take interest in the Louvre,” said Adel Ziane, Director of External Relations, Musée du Louvre.
The collection will be available in the Louvre gift shop (and online), via Off---White.com and Farfetch.com, and in shops including Off White Paris, Off-White Milan, EM_PTY Gallery, and Browns. Prices will range from 355 - 640 USD.
The capsule imagery was shot inside the Grande Galerie of the Louvre, capturing the immense history celebrated within France’s national museum, while truly connecting this modern collection with its core inspiration, as the Louvre holds the largest collection in the world of Da Vinci’s paintings, alongside 22 drawings.
About Off-White™ c/o Virgil Abloh
Established in 2013, Off-White™ is defining the grey area between black and white as a color. Under the brand name, seasonal collections of men’s and women’s clothing, objects, furniture, and publications are articulating a current culture vision. Collections embedded in a recurrent back story with an emphasis on creating garments that have an identity by design. With a design studio based in Milan, Italy, the label harnesses the history and craftsmanship within the country yet offers a global perspective in terms of design and trends. With a clear vision of splicing the reality of how clothes are worn and the artistic expression of high fashion, creative director and designer Virgil Abloh explores concepts in the realm of youth culture in the contemporary context.
About the Musée du Louvre
Royal palace turned universal museum in 1793, the Louvre has been at the core of French history for over eight centuries. Today, it features some of the finest collections in the world, spanning 9 thousand years and 5 continents. Over 35,000 artworks are grouped into eight curatorial departments, including universallyadmired works such as The Mona Lisa, The Winged Victory of Samothrace, and the Venus de Milo. Guardian of this unique heritage that it shares and perpetuates, the Louvre is the world’s most visited museum: it welcomed more than 10.2 million visitors in 2018.
The Louvre is open every day from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (rooms close at 5.30pm.) except on Tuesdays. Night opening until 9:45 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays. Free admission on the first Saturday of each month from 6 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. More information on: www.louvre.fr/en
