Backstage at Off-White™’s Spring 2025 show on Sunday afternoon, the air was penetrated by anxious excitement — the sort of sensation you feel when you know what you’re about to experience is worthy of a page in your own life’s unpasted scrapbook. In this case, the canon event was the Milan-based, Virgil Abloh-founded brand’s debut New York Fashion Week show, led by creative director Ib Kamara, who was busy putting the final touches on each of his 41 sporty streetwear looks, while the first of his guests began to arrive to Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 2. There, Off-White™ had turned the waterside promenade into its own pick-up basketball court, complete with branded hoops, free-throw lanes, center circles and metal benches that would soon be warmed by some of fashion’s most famous faces.

Cheers erupted upon the arrival of Mary J. Blige, who posed in front of a chain link step-and-repeat boasting the label’s Arrows motif before entering the venue. Zayn Malik and Lena Waithe followed suit, finding their seats next to Camila Cabello and Paris Jackson. Tinashe entered wearing one of the imprint’s head-turning bomber jackets, unzipped and fanning around her shoulders; Flavor Flav paired a signature neck clock with Off-White™’s baby blue varsity jacket, and June Ambrose couldn’t be missed in a signature, tall grey hat. Coco Jones, Victoria Monét, Leon Bridges, Alessandra Ambrosio, Joan Smalls, Ayra Starr and more filled the remainder of the baller front row, mingling with one another and answering questions for social media editors before the show’s commencement.

Kamara, who worked alongside Abloh as Off-White™’s stylist before the prolific designer’s death, decided to take the brand to New York this year to fulfill the late founder’s original goal of doing so in 2022. In his show notes, Kamara made his intentions with the runway clear: “The deepest and truest emotions are those steeped in one’s own biography and formative experiences. Thereafter, bringing traces of my life journey within the creative process charges my work with the energy I want the Off-White™ community to perceive. Pieces of clothing are way more than just objects. Whist keeping their useful and functional nature, they can convey narratives and be infused with soul, which is my aim within the emotional world Virgil created.”

Energetic electronic music hushed the crowd before the point-guard creative director’s Spring 2025 manifesto dribbled down the catwalk. Titled “DUTY FREE,” the collection was inspired by a trip to Ghana, a frequent reference point in Off-White™’s fashion vernacular. Kamara, who was born in Sierra Leone and grew up in London, said he and Abloh shared similar outlooks growing up. “I have vivid memories of what America, and New York in particular, represented in the collective imagination of Africans: a dreamland of utopias made real, a place of opportunities. The lotteries in which the main prize would be a possibility to enter the States were major events for us.”

So, the resulting fashion line looked to fuse America and Africa through the lens of sportswear, with razor-tailored shapes, bold iconography and a penchant for futurism. Men’s and women’s silhouettes shared an African palette of neutrals coupled with vibrant splashes of red. Notably, Off-White™ enlisted Ghanaian contemporary artist Nana Danso, known for his youthful cast of illustrative characters, to remix its classic Arrows motif, which landed on sleeveless, graphic hoodies, hero varsity jackets and denim workwear, among other silhouettes across the line.

Kamara’s womenswear examined what he called a “vertical, body-conscious slant.” In practice, this exploration bred form-flattering track jackets with embedded corsetry, skin-tight pleated trousers with fold-over waist pockets and powerful pantsuits with V-line necks plunging below the belly button. Star decals decorated button-up shirts and shaped dimensional sequin skirts with white feathers, while a pink camo print heralded the label’s strong streetwear roots.

Menswear, on the other hand, prioritized utilitarianism, with multi-purpose zippers and ample pockets punctuating each look. Canvas trousers, held up with punkish “$EX” belts, donned external storage compartments that could be zipped on and off the waist, while structured leather blazers counted four buttoned pockets across the torso; and check vests featured removable sectionals at the waist. Shredded denim, painted teal and red, held together vests and trousers with identical zip pouches, as did a pair of jean shorts that was paired with a bulky hoodie reading “DUTY FREE,” while glittering long-sleeves, worn by the likes of NLE Choppa, made masculinity look glamorous.

When models marched the runway in unison for the show’s final carousel — in the foreground of Manhattan views and among the American fashion capital’s glitterati — Kamara’s sartorial declaration became clear: “This collection oozes the inclusive spirit of New York as the place where dreamers gather. It is grounded in reality, with a dash of magic.”

To tremendous applause, the designer emerged for a final bow at half-court. It was clear that Off-White™ had claimed the winner’s ball.