Off-White launches L/AB diffusion line with more accessible price points

Off-White has launched a new lower-priced diffusion line called L/AB c/o Off-White, aimed at younger consumers, with prices ranging from about $45 to $220 (£34-£166).

In comparison, the core Off-White range runs from $175 to $4,000 (£132-£3,025).

The line will be sold globally online, through select streetwear specialty stores, and through mainstream wholesale accounts, with Off-White planning two seasonal collections per year, in spring and fall, plus additional drops targeted at specific markets.

The assortment is built around sportswear staples, including fleece, T-shirts, hoodies, tracksuits, sneakers, underwear and some outerwear.

On its website, Off-White says: "Through customisable everyday essentials, collaborative experiences, and ongoing creative exchange, it empowers a new generation to participate in culture, rather than simply consume it.

"Conceived as a purposeful work in progress, L/AB c/o Off-White encourages experimentation, collective creativity, and the continual recoding of culture."

Cristiano Fagnani, Off-White's CEO, told WWD that the line's target audience are Gen Z and that it is designed as "a toolkit" and "a wardrobe you can build on and keep mixing and matching over time."

"Off-White has always been built as an open platform that aims to make itself available in terms of product to the widest possible range of consumers and communities," he added.

While North America will be the primary market, distribution will also span Europe, Asia and other markets.

Brand architecture and history

L/AB, which Off-White says stands for "Laboratory of Fun", is positioned around sport, music and fashion, with a focus on community sports, open street tournaments and campus collection drops.

Off-White's own site frames the project as a brand "for the next generation of creatives, cultural catalysts and emerging talent".

The diffusion line follows an earlier lower-priced Off-White project. In 2018, the brand introduced Off-White For All, which offered accessibly priced unisex hoodies and graphic T-shirts aimed at Millennials. That project has since been retired. Fagnani framed L/AB as a more developed effort.

"In a way, we've been warming up for this for the past 10 years by doing a lot of smaller things, but now we're conveying this through a more robust expression of the brand," he said.

The CEO of Off-White's owner, Bluestar Alliance, Joey Gabbay, commented that L/AB "represents an important evolution within the Off-White universe, expanding how new generations can engage with the brand through product, experiences, and creative participation."