Virgil Abloh will only sell his latest jewellery collection to those he feels deserve it.
Virgil Abloh
The 39-year-old fashion designer has created a line of diamond-encrusted bling themed around office supplies in collaboration with Jacob & Co, and has said he won't be putting the pieces on the market for just anyone to buy.
Instead, Virgil is making those interested in the pieces - which include money clips, bracelets, earrings, and necklaces - fill in a "short questionnaire", with the designer himself choosing the successful applicants who then get to buy from the collection.
He said: "People will fill out a short questionnaire, submit their request, and I decide where these pieces will go on a case-by-case basis. I want it to feel very old school. It's bespoke."
But Virgil insists his decision has not been made so he can sift through his less stylish followers.
He added: "I wouldn't be that blunt! The transaction becomes very particular so the consumer can value it as if they're owning a special piece from my studio rather than, say, a pair of trainers.
The Off-White founder believes his new line - which is made using 18-karat gold paperclips - is "an object of art" rather than fashion, and says the collection is one of the "purest forms of expression" he's ever created.
Speaking to British Vogue, he explained: "This collection is one of the purest forms of my expression that I've come up with.
"A paperclip is less than five cents. Done in diamonds it obviously exudes a different value, but it offers the same intrigue to the brain when you look at it. I love the conundrum. I love that your brain can ping-pong between value based on form and materiality. That's why I call it an object of art rather than a piece of fashion."
Virgil's new collection launched this week, and prices range from $3,000 to $72,000.