No, the brand Off-White isn’t a fast fashion brand. Instead, it’s a luxury designer label.
Fast fashion is taking over the world by a storm! Over the years, the fashion industry has rapidly moved towards establishing fast fashion businesses.
Such brands are supported due to their affordable prices and trendy clothing. However, people aren’t aware of how fast fashion is negatively impacting our ecosystem.
It’s contributing towards the damages caused to the environment, like pollution and climate change.
As more people start realizing this problem, they’ve started shifting towards more sustainable brands. Conscious shoppers are trying to gather as much information as they can get on brands.
For that reason, I’m here to help! In this article, I’ll be highlighting whether the brand, Off-White, is a fast fashion one or not.
So let’s get right to it!
Is Off-White really fast fashion?
Fortunately, the brand Off-White isn’t a fast fashion brand. Rather it’s a luxury fashion label which was founded by the American designer, Virgil Abloh.
It was established in Milan in 2012. It skyrocketed the hip-hop style into the world of couture. This brand is very popular and has collaborated with Famous labels, such as Nike, Jimmy Choo, and even IKEA.
One of the main reasons behind this brands booming success is the support and recognition it receives from celebrities. It has been worn by Jay-Z, Gigi Hadid, Beyoncé, as well as Rihanna.
Off-White carves out the niche for exclusive street-wear and targeted the younger generation. It rapidly became one of the world’s most popular high fashion brands.
As it’s a luxury brand, it’s not a fast fashion company. In fact, fast fashion brands are actually a competitor to this luxury label.
A criticism that this brand often receives is over its unusually high prices. For instance, $200 for a T-shirt or $300 for a hoodie.
However, Virgil Abloh justified the brand’s high prices by saying that fast fashion is like “McDonald’s” and he doesn’t believe in it. He warns people to not let companies like Zara, which is a fast fashion brand, educate them on the prices of the garment.
He goes on to add that he doesn’t believe that such companies and their clothes can qualify as fashion. He claims that it’s a McDonald’s culture and “your health is tied to that 99 cent nugget”.
He even pointed out that in the actual world, there is a high cost which goes into manufacturing of clothes which aren’t made under abusive, or planet destroying conditions.
Unlike fast fashion brands which are ruining our ecosystem. Abloh’s statements helps customers easily trust the brand to not be a fast fashion one.
After all, he shows a lot of disgust towards this type of fashion and doesn’t even believe in it. He claims that fast fashion is completely destroying our planet and it’s not healthy or safe at all.
He relates this to his high prices, saying that if you want something that’s actually safe, then it comes at a cost.
Honestly, people do agree with Abloh’s claims and are gradually realizing how fast fashion is putting too many lives at stake.
How sustainable is Off-White?
Sustainability and ethicality are somewhat interrelated. As we know that Off-White isn’t a fast fashion brand, this means that it’s sustainable as well.
Its high prices is an indication that it doesn’t use cheap raw materials like other fast fashion brands do.
Instead, the founder of the brand proudly states how the brand ethically sources raw materials and reminds the customers that they come at a cost.
As the garments are made using good quality raw materials, they’re also sustainable and are long lasting.
The brand being a luxury designer label is also a good sign, because customers won’t have to quickly discard the clothes to keep up with the next trend.
Instead, they can invest in such brands and use the clothing several times. It won’t wear down quickly because it’s high quality.
However, it should be noted that all of the above are merely claims made by the company.
It has been reported that the brand fails to publish sufficient information related to its environmental policies.
It’s believed that transparency is the first step towards sustainability. However, as Off-White doesn’t provide enough information, many people tend to avoid it and don’t regard it as a sustainable brand.
On the other hand, Virgil went on giving interviews about how his aim is to make this world a better place through fashion and also more inclusive.
Abloh died of cancer, but in the last two years he was engaged in a project with the water brand, Evian. He was working on a zero waste solution.
Moreover, there isn’t enough information on the brand’s labor conditions either. Its final stage of production takes place in Italy. This country is at a medium risk for labor abuse.
However, in an interview Virgil talked about how fast fashion brands aren’t providing living wages and have a negative code of conduct.
This could imply that his own brand is actually ethical in this matter and doesn’t follow the unethical practices of fast fashion brand.
Although, the lack of transparency over this subject makes it hard to trust these claims. They become blank statements with no evidence.
Virgil strongly believed that sustainability is how humans relate to each other and sustainability was also a strong part of him as well as his brand.
Is Off-White cruelty free?
No, Off-White isn’t a 100% cruelty free brand! While it doesn’t use fur, down exotic animal skin, or Angora, this label still makes use of leather, wool, and exotic animal hair.
Additionally, there isn’t any information on their cruelty free status available on the web page either. By not providing relevant information, this makes the brand shady about its status.
For this reason, it couldn’t be considered as a cruelty free company. However, it is currently unclear whether this brand tests on animals or not.
Regardless, it still uses animal derived products for its clothing which makes it a non-cruelty free brand.
Although, the brand discusses environmental issues on a large platform, they should also take a look at the cruelty free sector as well!
I hope this article answered all your questions regarding the brand Off-White!
