Ib Kamara Speaks on Becoming Virgil Abloh's Off-White™ Successor

Multi-hyphenate Ib Kamara is slated to take on the role of art and image director of Off-White™. The announcement was initially made nearly six months after Virgil Abloh‘s death. Kamara and Abloh have had a long-standing collaborative relationship that stemmed from styling the label’s shows for many years.

Kamara was with Abloh and Off-White™ since the beginning – from the research to the styling to the brand story. In addition to his styling work with Off-White™ and Louis Vuitton, Kamara creates music and short films, as well as designs furniture. Since January 2022, he has been recognized as Dazed magazine’s editor in chief. Co-founder of Dazed Media, Jefferson Hack says that one thing that Kamara had in common with Abloh is that, “You can see Ib’s impact on culture by the speed with which his ideas are copied.”

Kamara explained that he first realized Abloh’s influence on mass culture when he was traveling in Ghana and saw a pair of Off-White™ knock-offs in all the markets. Ib said, “I think fashion can be a tool that can alter the way people see the world.” When asked about his plans for Off-White™ and how he felt after Abloh’s death, Kamara simply said, “He was so brilliant, and for me, the saddest thing is all those ideas are in the grave.” Kamara later alludes to a story where he designed a series of headgear for one of Comme des Garçons’ lockdown shows in Tokyo to go with the skeleton motif to explain his design vision for Off-White™,

“I’m trying to learn how to edit, how to work one idea through to the end. Even with this thing I just showed you, there are only two things I have to work with — the bones and the flowers. I don’t want to think of anything else, just those two things, and how far I can push them. That’s the state I’m in.”

While only time will tell how Kamara will carry on the house motifs for Off-White™, it is clear that he intends to continue to push the boundaries of creativity, living up to the title as Virgil Abloh’s successor.

In other fashion news, Tom Ford is set to step down as CFDA chairman.