If you have not seen the CHANEL Haute Couture episode of the docuseries 7 Days Out yet, go ahead and check it out—the Netflix original was released last month, with the 46-minute video taking us behind the scenes of Chanel’s dreamy couture show for SS18. If you’ve already watched the Andrew Rossi-directed series and had your take on it, you might want to add another documentary to your watchlist. This time around, it’s concerning Off-White, last year’s biggest brand. The Virgil Abloh-led label has decided to reveal through film the things that went behind one of its shows, particularly for its FW18 Women’s collection.
Abloh kicks off the year for his brand with “West Village”, which takes its name after the very same catwalk show it features. The presentation in question took place in March 2018, during the Paris Fashion Week, where attendees were treated to Victorian-inspired pieces that come with a modern twist. It was combining the best of two worlds: on one hand you have the classic and the exquisite cuts, on the other, you have the edgy and sports-like details. Different, even clashing fabrics and patterns came together to give the impression of blending the past and the future: pieces had snakeskin, while also having tulle in different hues. Off-White collaborations, notably the Off-White x Nike VaporMax kicks, also made an appearance.
The West Village documentary allows one to relive the moment, regardless of whether it was experienced in person or virtually, by showing us the presentation’s best moments, albeit briefly. But the video also gives us more: through it, Off-White and Abloh bring us backstage where the magic is brewing, as well as to the brand’s studio and atelier, where we see the founder-cum-chief executive officer at work with his team.
The video is only at 30 minutes, but within that timeframe we see Abloh take us through the creative process, including the conceptualization and the choosing of fabrics, right down to the finalization of the pieces, all of which he does with the rest of the Off-White team. We are also given justification for the presentation’s West Village theme. Without giving too much away, hypebeasts who follow the designer for its kicks would be thrilled: the short documentary has the designer talk about Off-White sneakers.
The feature also took the time to remind us of Abloh’s endeavors in arts. West Village films the designer while creating the very art pieces that accompanied the show. Jumping to 10 months later, some of these have already been displayed away from the catwalk. Abloh held exhibitions worldwide—in October last year, he teamed up with Japanese contemporary artist and former Louis Vuitton collaborator Takashi Murakami for the AMERICA TOO exhibition at the Gagosian in California.
Unlike the Chanel/Karl Lagerfeld special, a Netflix subscription is not necessary to view the documentary. The full video is available at the Off-White website, where you can stream it for free.
Image credits: Imaxtree, Flaunt, Off-White
