While they’re two brands you might not initially put together, Byredo and Off-White are a perfect match, with both renowned for conceptual thinking and a unique take on luxury creation. Not content with creating a mere collection, respective creative directors Virgil Abloh and Ben Gorham instead decided to build a collaborative project, ‘Elevator Music’, which launches on Monday at Selfridges.

“I knew Virgil even before the inception of Off-White, so it’s great to be able to finally realise a project together within our respective brands,” explains Gorham of the collaboration. “We have always shared a common understanding that relevance is everything, and that the rules of our industry need to be somehow rewritten.”

For ‘Elevator Music’, they’ve chosen to do so by stripping things right back to explore our interactions with luxury. “The concept was to define emotion with the least amount effects,” explains Abloh. “Much like literal elevator music, we wanted the scent to play a background to one’s life.”

For the installation in the space, specialised soundscapes and art all add a multi-sensory layer to the collaboration.Citing artist Carsten Höller – whose trippy, immersive installations toy with the idea of human experience – as inspiration for the concept, Höller’s 1998 work Punktefilm will be shown on screens spread throughout the space. Elsewhere, tubing runs throughout to pay tribute to the artist’s 2011 piece “The Elevator in the Elevator”. 

Aside from these concepts, the slick, pared-back capsule line speaks for itself. From fragrances and hand creams to streamlined, monochrome beach bags – adorned with the signature Off-White tags and patches – the new range is sleek without being flashy. It’s a unique fusion of Abloh’s much-hyped aesthetic and Byredo’s luxury sensibilities, and one which represents a new, conceptual approach to collaboration we’re 100% here for.

Off-White x Byredo will drop exclusively at Selfridges London and on Byredo’s UK website from April 23 to April 29 with limited quantities available.