Off-White To Launch OffKat, an Immersive New Collaboration with KATSU
The collaboration features a collection, a video game and live exhibitions.
Off-White is launching a comprehensive collaboration with the New York City-based graffiti artist KATSU. The partnership includes a complete womenswear and menswear collection, a multi-part digital interface and video game.
The launch was kicked off with a live event in Beijing, China on Friday. A complementary New York City exhibition and in-store activation will take place on July 10 and 11 at their Mercer Street location in New York City. It will host a projection of Beijing’s show and will display the video game developed by KATSU and Off-White’s founder and creative director, Virgil Abloh, titled OffKat.
On the second day, visitors to the New York location can see an in-store KATSU tagging event. KATSU is particularly known for tampering with the intersection of art, graffiti, dark tech, hacking and vandalism – a pioneer in drone painting and drone graffiti.
“I’ve been a KATSU fan for a long time,” said Abloh. “And, more recently, I’ve seen just how ahead of the curve he is when it comes to fusing a kind of subversive tradition with a radical future. He crosses lines, and dissolves them. That thinking is a perfect adjunct to my ethos at Off-White.”
The OffKat collaboration features a high-low mix ranging from suits and gowns to crew neck t-shirts. KATSU’s iconic skull moniker plays prominently across the clothes, as do recontextualized drone paintings in all-over prints.
Both womenswear and menswear have a crossover element, too, retaining a gender neutral appeal. Pieces include printed-and-flared chinos, painted shorts, graffiti-overlaid Jitney bags, box-shoulder blazers. Odsy sneakers are also updated for this partnership, as are nail heels, derbies and customized moccasins.
The OffKat collection became available for purchase immediately following Friday’s event at the Off-White Beijing store. The video game can also be accessed on iOS and Google Play platforms.