This Is What Virgil Abloh's Princess Diana-Inspired Off-White Collection Looks Like
During the summer, designer Virgil Abloh began sharing his mood boards for Off-White’s upcoming Spring 2018 collection on Instagram… and he had a singular muse: Diana, Princess of Wales. The late royal was on the minds of many at the time, since the 20th anniversary of her death was creeping up at the end of August: Documentaries were slated to come out, never-before-seen interviews were resurfaced, and old images began inundating our social feeds. Alboh told British Vogue it was the latter that set off the creative lightbulb for this collection. “She was a strong individual that despite her position had her own personal taste and it came out through the clothes—there is no stylist at play here,” the designer said. “Her personal taste was very out of the way from what she was supposed to wear. It’s an inspiration.”
So, Abloh presented 40 looks in tribute to Princess Diana and her sartorial legacy during Paris Fashion Week, as part of an Off-White collection titled “Natural Women.” There are the obvious references to her wardrobe signatures, which were updated and infused with the designer’s sensibility for streetwear: the strings of pearls, the heavy jeweled earrings, the strong shoulders, the polka dots, the gloves, the biker shorts, the Jimmy Choos (a special collaboration for the Spring 2018 season). Then, there are the ones that are more on-the-nose, such as the clutch bags bearing the titles of magazines that covered her whereabouts extensively, like People and Time (in each brand’s signature font), that say more about her legacy. Altogether, they all confirm what we’ve already known: that Princess Diana’s fashion feels as relevant as ever.
Ahead, see all the looks in Off-White’s Spring 2018 Princess Diana-inspired “Natural Woman” collection.