Ib Kamara is taking Off-White to a New Level

Last month Ib Kamara made his Off-White debut at the Paris AW23 fashion show and he did not disappoint. The collection was entitled ‘Lunar Delivery’ inspired by sci-fi themes mixed with workwear influences. Kamara was not afraid of imprinting his personal identity upon the brand. Taking inspiration from his Sierra Leonian roots and afro-futuristic themes, Kamara’s fascination with food delivery workers blended with the fashion motif of Afrofuturism and punk style, made for a dynamic debut and bright future for the Off-White brand. 

The show commits to the title ‘Lunar Delivery’ just through the set alone. The runway is transformed into an intergalactic setting with a huge spheric silver globe as the backdrop. Each model is sporting an alien-like garment and each piece in the collection is cinematic in its own right. The piece that ties the whole collection together is the use of silver grommets and they are everywhere, on the clothes, as accessories, and even in the model’s hair. Every look was well constructed and Kamara’s stylist roots are strong through the composition of each design. Debuting suits reflective of the brands’ alignment with streetwear, harnesses are repurposed on jackets and dresses to create innovative pieces. A standout look was Look 28, an orange oversized suit with a print of people walking across it, paired with four lensed glasses the look was effortless and sleek. Another stand-out was Look 36; a striped black and silver silhouette dress with harness detailing exuding extra terrestrial motifs. 

Many welcomed the collection with open arms seeing it as an innovative, creative, and fresh take on the brand. Accolades went to Kamara for stepping into Virgil’s shoes and honouring his memory through the collection. With the show being well-received by critics and fans alike, many are excited to see where Kamara will take the brand in the future. However, as always there were critique. Some loyal fans of the brand were afraid that Kamara’s background as Editor in Chief of Dazed Magazine meant there were too many ideas and that the collection had no cohesion. Others refute this, saying that this is only his debut, cohesion comes with time and in these early stages, Kamara is still exploring where he wants to take the brand and the plethora of ideas displayed on the runway made for an exciting show with each look having its own sense of individuality. 

I for one enjoyed the show immensely, especially the mixture of elements made of innovative looks and pieces. We were given an insight into the versatility of Kamara’s skill set. As new creative Director Kamara highlighted in the show notes; ‘There could only ever be one Virgil’ and through his direction, he is honouring the legacy that Virgil established within the brand.