VIRGIL ABLOH, OFF-WHITE DEBUT SECOND ‘I SUPPORT YOUNG BLACK BUSINESSES’ INSTALLMENT
Virgil Abloh and Off-White have launched the second installment of the “I Support Young Black Businesses” project through a new collaboration with Stüssy.
Founded by Off-White’s founder and creative director, Virgil Abloh, “I Support Young Black Businesses” is a quarterly fundraising program that raises money and awareness for organizations chosen by Abloh and his team in support of Black communities. The program is a reflection of Abloh’s ongoing broad-based advocacy for and support of Black talent.
This quarter, Abloh designed an exclusive tee that reinterprets Stüssy’s signature “World Tour” t-shirt, in honor of the company’s 40th birthday. The tee features the commanding neon orange slogan – “I Support Young Black Businesses” – layered with Stüssy’s handwritten logo, Abloh’s name rendered in Stüssy’s iconic scribbled font, and a warped, Xeroxed Sphinx graphic.
The shirt was produced by Jay Green, of One Accord Apparel Group, which is based in Chicago. One Accord is the same Black-owned screen-printing business that helped to launch Abloh’s career.
Stüssy will donate a portion of the net proceeds from the sale of the t-shirts to Future of Museums, an organization of Black and Indigenous curators, scholars, arts administrators and more, who are collectively dedicated to ending systemic racism and colonial practices in museums and other art spaces. In 2021, the Future of Museums will publish a research manual for national museums, galleries, and more that lays out new foundations of equity, community and justice.
In addition to Stüssy’s contribution, Off-White will make a separate donation in support of Future of Museums.
“As the ‘I Support Young Black Businesses’ program continues, we’re working with groups that we think really engage with and make a difference in the ongoing fight for social justice,” said Abloh. “This second chapter is a perfect amalgamation. I have long admired Stüssy as a brand, and to be able to create a unique product with them, and then donate to such an important group as the Future of Museums, is a massive honor.”
The Off-White “I Support Young Black Businesses” x Stüssy tee, in addition to the rest of Stüssy’s 40th Anniversary World Tour products, will be produced and sold exclusively by Stüssy in Chapter Stores, Dover Street Market, and stussy.com from 10:00 AM PST on Friday, November 20th.
This second chapter of the quarterly fundraising program follows Off-White’s support last quarter for Chicago CRED, an organization Abloh has partnered with since 2017 in his home city and is focused on reducing gun violence.
