LVMH Said Eyeing Stake in New Guards Group
A NEW GUARDS DEAL FOR LVMH?: LVMH Mo?t Hennessy Louis Vuitton might be getting even closer to one of its star designers, Virgil Abloh.
According to market sources, the French luxury group is in talks with New Guards Group, the Milan-based parent company of the Off-White brand created by Abloh, who is also creative director of men’s wear at Louis Vuitton.
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New Guards Group Holding SpA includes the Marcelo Burlon County of Milan label, Palm Angels, Heron Preston, Unravel Project, Alanui and A Plan Application.
The fashion group was founded by Davide de Giglio, Claudio Antonioli and Burlon in 2015.
Off-White was launched online in late 2013, holding its first showroom presentation in Paris the following January with designs that merged influences ranging from Bauhaus to sports apparel and Caravaggio. It established the visual signature of the brand: thick diagonal stripes that have become a byword for insider cool.
“Cool” is a word that also applies to the other brands in the New Guards Group. Francesco Ragazzi, who is also art director of Moncler, established Palm Angels in 2015, inspired by the vision of Eighties’ American fashion entrepreneurs such as Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger. The brand was launched with the blessing of Pharrell Williams, who wrote the introduction of the “Palm Angels” photo book that Ragazzi published with Rizzoli in September 2014.
Marcelo Burlon County of Milan was established in 2012 as a brand selling printed T-shirts, but his founder has been building the elevated streetwear label’s credibility with solid collections.
Preston this week staged his inaugural runway show in Paris, titled “Night Shift,” held at the Palais de Tokyo. A former art director for Kanye West, Preston, who grew up with the skate culture in San Francisco, worked at Nike Inc. and was also a part of the Been Trill art and DJ collective with Abloh, Justin Saunders and Matthew Williams.
Alanui is known for its luxury knitwear and was founded in 2015 by siblings Carlotta and Nicolò Oddi.
A Plan Application is the brainchild of the U.K.-based sculptor Anna Blessmann and is the most recent addition to New Guards Group.
LVMH could not be reached for comment as of press time.
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