Off-White to Open Canadian Store

Luxury streetwear brand Off-White will open a Canadian location in mid-2017, in Toronto. It will be one of two confirmed North American locations for the company, with a store also set to open in New York City next year.

The brand is described as having been “conceived of as a bridge between the worlds of streetwear and high fashion”. Known for its edgy fashions featuring thick diagonal stripes, Off-White is designed by Virgil Abloh, who launched the brand online in 2013 and held its first Paris showroom presentation in January of 2014.

In the summer of 2015, Off-White expanded from exclusively menswear into womenswear and remarkably, made it onto the shortlist of the 2015 edition of the LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers. The company is owned by Milan-based New Guards Group. 

Off White’s energetic founder and creative director Virgil Abloh is also creative director for celebrity Kanye West, a DJ, and co-founder of Chicago concept store RSVP Gallery.

Mr. Abloh is in the process of rolling-out freestanding stores for the Off-White brand, which began with the opening of a location in Hong Kong in late 2014.

Off-White currently operates six stores globally — in Beijing, Hong Kong, London, Seoul, Shanghai and Tokyo. The Beijing and London shops are both department store concessions — Beijing’s is in Galeries Lafayette, and London’s is at Selfridges.

In Canada, Off-White is available in a handful of retailers, including selected Holt Renfrew stores.

In Toronto, Off-White will open at 83 Yorkville Avenue in a ground-floor space measuring about 2,400 square feet. A further 2,150 square feet of space is located in the building’s basement. CBRE‘s Arlin Markowitz and Jackson Turner acted on behalf of the landlord in a lease deal with the retailer. 

When it opens next year, Off-White will be located a few doors east of French luxury brand Christian Louboutin, which opened its Canadian flagship at 99 Yorkville Avenue in August of this year.

Before the end of the year, Chanel will open an 8,700 square foot replacement location across the street at 100 Yorkville Avenue.

Sources say that several more luxury brands are expected to be announced in the coming months as Yorkville Avenue takes its place as one of Canada’s premier luxury retail addresses.