“SUMMER READING”

Summer 2020 marks the launch of the first edition of Warehouse Review, a publication that aims to explore alternative modes of fashion criticism. The series, initiated by Amsterdam-based fashion platform Warehouse, has the intention to fill gaps left by the fashion industry when it comes to fashion critique. Warehouse Review strives to give a thorough analysis and contextualisation of various contemporary fashion phenomena. The inaugural issue of Warehouse Review, titled ‘People Wearing Off-White’, is dedicated to Virgil Abloh’s highly visible and recognizable luxury streetwear brand Off-White.

“POPULAR”

The project started as the documentation of a personal fascination with the overwhelming presence of a yellow industrial belt and a logo with crossed arrows on the streets of Amsterdam. What was it, and where did it originate from? And why was it so popular? At the end of the summer of 2019, Warehouse co-founder Hanka van der Voet started documenting people wearing Off-White she encountered in the streets. The results were collected through her Instagram stories. Using the hashtag #peoplewearingoffwhite, Hanka asked her followers to contribute images as well. In five months time, a collection of over 200 images of people wearing Off-White was established. Starting off as an obsession with collecting the images, this project quickly turned into a fascination with Off-White designer Virgil Abloh, the immense popularity of his brand, and the lack of contextualisation the mainstream fashion media was providing for this phenomenon.

“FRESH”

‘People Wearing Off-White’ offers a fresh critique on Virgil Abloh’s presence in the fashion and art world. It dissects the hype by addressing the specific brand language, analysing Off-White’s Instagram presence and providing a new perspective on one of Off-White’s most popular product: the yellow industrial belt. The publication also presents an analytical essay and overview of the #peoplewearingoffwhite photo collection. How did this brand come into being, in what context can it exist and what tactics are used to build this specific brand image? Designed by Line Arngaard, the zine features contributions by Chinouk Filique de Miranda, Denise Bernts, Femke de Vries and Hanka van der Voet.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Warehouse Review 001 | 'People Wearing Off-White' drops in a run of 150 copies on 23 July 2020. The zine is not available for sale, but can be obtained through swapping only, exclusively at San Serriffe in Amsterdam and through the Warehouse website.