How it Happens: The Story Behind the Off-White™ x Burton x Vogue Collection

When Vogue calls to ask if you want to build something together with world-renowned designer Virgil Abloh of Off-White™, you don’t hesitate.

You’ve seen Abloh’s work, most recently on fashion icons that dominate the space he refers to as where couture meets street. There’s no force more disruptive in fashion and street culture.

So, a couple years back, when Vogue Magazine’s Selby Drummond called Burton’s Creative Director at Large, Greg Dacyshyn, it was all we needed to get started on a collection that would further develop our commitment to women’s innovation and design. Here’s the story straight from Greg D. and Virgil Abloh.

GD: I met Virgil years ago, via my good friend Mazdack Rassi (of MILK), just when Virgil was starting up his first new brand called Pyrex Vision. He’d been working with Kanye West and already had a great reputation. His whole vibe was very cool, very graphic based. Right from the start I found Virgil to be interesting and inspiring as he had such an eclectic past, from being a DJ, going to architecture school, and then launching into the world of fashion design. Then I found out that he grew up riding, and had followed the Burton brand for so long, so there was a really authentic connection. Fast forward to a couple of years ago when I got a call from Selby Drummond asking if we wanted to do a collaboration with Vogue and Virgil.

It was humbling to have the opportunity to work with the most iconic women’s magazine and such an innovative designer. We also thought it was really cool that the collection would focus exclusively on women since Virgil’s brand at that time had, in my opinion, more of a male-dominated foundation.

VA: The root of the collection was using Selby as the muse. Her personality and character is the intersection that inspired me. She is both street and chic. Ask her to recite a Lil Uzi Vert rap verse! She can easily do that, as well as tell you how many runway shows Dries Van Noten has ever done without hesitation.

Therein lies the Off-White™ spirit. The collection signifies both high fashion in its tailoring and fit, as well as having the element of no-fuss and utilitarianism.

GD: To kick things off, Selby and Virgil came to Burton for a deep dive into our company, our archives, and our products—an amazing experience, especially given Virgil’s love for and legacy of snowboarding. We dug into our materials, into Craig’s, and more. Then it was about getting into the actual design and development of the capsule collection. It took a few rounds to get it right, with the right balance of both brands plus Vogue’s overall input. We landed in the perfect place.

VA: The development process for the collaboration was amazing. It was super organic and it came from a really authentic place. Selby and I both have particular tastes and a love for snowboarding. When it came to that seasonal search for certain items, we identified a missing genre in the world of typical snowboard apparel.

GD: I love to bring an outside guest designer into Burton, especially someone of Virgil’s caliber. It pushes us to work beyond where we might go with the Burton name, and pushes us outside of our comfort zone to a new level of innovation. Success comes when the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and that’s absolutely true in this collab. Combining Virgil’s fresh aesthetic and Vogue’s flawless input with Burton’s best-in-class technical materials, function, and performance created something that we are beyond proud of.

VA: Since I was young, style to me was almost more important than function. So, this process was fun because we were able to put function and style on the same particular level.

The Off-White™x Burton x Vogue collection is available now, but likely won’t be for long. ∆