Off-White™'s New Collection Is a Not-So-Subtle Ode to Jordan
Off-White™'s got a new Jordan collection incoming, apparently. Off-White™ Pre-Spring 2024 is littered with visual references to Michael Jordan, though it isn't a collaboration. If it is, talk about subtle!
Of course, it's not like Off-White™ is sneaking anything past its longtime partners at Nike's Jordan Brand. We've seen plenty of official Off-White™ Jordan team-ups over the years, encompassing plenty of sneakers and apparel, so Off-White™ and Nike presumably remain on good terms (oh yeah, and more Off-White™ Nikes are apparently en route, too).
I assume that Off-White™ is instead simply using Jordan (the man, not the brand) as a visual motif to guide its own mid-season collection, especially considering that there's not really all that many direct nods in Pre-Spring 2024.
The most obvious stuff is the number 23, which Michael Jordan wore while playing on the Chicago Bulls. Hey, Off-White™ just did its own Bulls collab! Really makes you think.
Point being, no one "owns" the number 23, so Off-White™ is free to print it on track jackets and woven basketball jerseys. Not like it says "Jordan" anywhere.
What results is an overarching air of Jordanified luxury gear. Simple as that, not like there's much deeper meaning beyond that.
Or is there? I have to wonder if Off-White™ creative director Ib Kamara is subtly winking to Jordan's sartorial legacy throughout Pre-Spring 2024.
It's a little less conceptual than Kamara's space-themed Off-White™ debut but you can see whispers of Jordan's famously gargantuan suits and huge denim jeans in the new Off-White™ collection.
Admittedly, this stuff is far more self-aware than Michael Jordan's wardrobe ever was, insofar as it's no accident that Off-White™'s jackets are baggy and its pants enormous.
It's all made extra luxurious with the addition of fancy silver jewelry, bead-studded bucket hats, and some hyper-chunky new sneakers that hearken back to the '90s, the heyday of Michael Jordan's style.
