PARIS (Reuters) - LVMH's Louis Vuitton brand, the biggest revenue driver at the French luxury goods group, said on Monday it had hired Virgil Abloh, the founder of streetwear label Off-White, to design its menswear collections.
The appointment follows internal reshuffles at LVMH that included switching menswear designers at sister brand Christian Dior.
Abloh, a 37-year-old American who has worked as hip-hop singer Kanye West's creative director, launched his first men's and womenswear collections through his Off-White label four years ago.
The brand is known for its luxury urban style, featuring hoodies that start at 400 pounds ($570), at a time when high-end brands are adopting some streetwear looks to attract younger shoppers.
Abloh, who interned with the rapper at LVMH's Fendi label, takes over from Briton Kim Jones - also known for introducing a streetwear look at Vuitton and who was last week named as the new designer of menswear at Dior.
Vuitton chief executive Michael Burke said in a statement that Abloh's "innate creativity and disruptive approach have made him so relevant, not just in the world of fashion but in popular culture today."
Menswear is typically a much smaller contributor to sales than women's fashion for big brands, but LVMH is shaking up men's collections across a number of its firms, as well as revamping the management of several labels.
Its French label Celine aims to at least double revenues under incoming designer Hedi Slimane as it branches into menswear and perfumes as well as growing online.
($1 = 0.7048 pounds)
(Reporting by Sarah White; editing by John Stonestreet)
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