According to the three-monthly report by Lyst, the first web search engine dedicated to the world of fashion, the most influential brand in 2018 was Off-White, a line of sneakers founded in 2012 in Milan. This report analyzed the increase of followers of several brands, the mentions of products and companies on different online platforms, the most typical related keywords and the feedback of users, thus choosing among more than 12 thousand designers and e-stores. What came out of it is that Virgil Abloh’s sneakers are the most wanted, most cited, most clicked, most copied and most bought fashion product in the world. We are talking about a pair of shoes that’s revolutionizing the concept of sneakers, endowed with a fresh and recognizable language, that mixes vaguely vintage lines with fluorescent colors, transparencies, maxi lettering, and black and white contrasts.
And all of the other brands could do nothing but adapt their style to that of the Instagram queen. We can definitely say we are still obsessing over Off-Court: the “architectonic” sneaker that merges graphic elements with Japanese style, the essentials of a pair of urban shoes with a luxury finish. Meanwhile, Virgil Abloh has already launched the next must-have: the latest model by Off-White was worn during the Paris Fashion Week by the top models Hadid and Jenner and by the Olympic champions, Dina Asher-Smith, and Katarina Johnson Thompson, and once again set next season’s trend, that has already inspired Balenciaga: strings. 2019 Off-White are once again the fruit of a collaboration between Virgil Abloh and Nike. In one word, the maximum of technical efficiency next to the most extreme artistic dismantling of the sneaker’s shape. There still are some remains of Vapor Max Hybrid’s fluorescent colors (let’s not forget the iconic Salamander orange) which are now reinterpreted through a triplet composed of green, yellow and neon fuchsia. Extra-large strings are their particularity: a fluorescent tangle in “Gladiator” style mixed with white and essential laces.
