FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH: OFF-WHITE RETURNS TO NEW YORK WITH IB KAMARA’S VISION

Camz
Sep 16
3 min read

A show that felt like an art opening

For an out-of-towner, IB Kamara knows how to own New York. After a detour in Paris last season, Off-White returned to the city with a setting as unpredictable as it was symbolic: the roof of the New Design High School, Lower East Side.

The venue was transformed into a playground of creativity, with local graffiti artists covering the walls in a tribute to the five boroughs. It felt less like a fashion show and more like a cultural event: half art opening, half basketball game.

To seal the deal, Ellie the Elephant, the mascot of the New York Liberty women’s team, took her place in the front row, reminding everyone that sports and style have been flirting shamelessly for decades.

The debate around streetwear

Backstage, Kamara spoke of streetwear with the kind of passion that makes you forget Virgil Abloh’s infamous declaration that “streetwear is dead.” Kamara, clearly, is here to resurrect it, or at least to reimagine it. His last three shows have been a masterclass in fusion, drawing on sport, biker culture, West African references, and the codes of streetwear itself.

“I want to make sure the language is understood,” he said, insisting that this collection was not only about Off-White but also about his own evolution: “I’m realizing what my taste is, and I think this collection feels like a complete merge of my time here and me.”

Bold colors, sharper shapes

And what a taste that is. The looks were unapologetically loud, playful, and sharp. Imagine body-con leggings clinging like a second skin, sheer button-downs stiffened with shoulder pads, and knits so fitted they seemed designed for speed.

The palette leaned toward vibrant color-blocking, almost sporty, yet executed with precision.

Denim was elevated through heavy topstitching, and some collars sparkled with Swarovski crystals, because why not make your jeans capable of blinding someone across the street?

Hoodies and jeans were airbrushed with New York skyscrapers, a cheeky reminder that sometimes fashion does literal better than metaphor.

A youthful tribute

The collection’s title, “Fountain of Youth,” was more than just a poetic flourish. It nodded to the students of New Design High School, who watched the show from their cafeteria, but also to the young Black pioneers who gave the world graffiti, hip-hop, and streetwear itself.

The spirit of this tribute was palpable in the crowd, which included icons like Busta Rhymes and Mary J. Blige: living proof that youth culture never really ages, it just changes outfits.

Music that mattered

If the clothes were bold, the soundtrack was subtle, perhaps even sly. According to the press notes, Kamara worked with Azekel, Erik Bodin, and Yukimi Nagano to create the show’s score. The final track, an ethereal piece that even Shazam couldn’t identify, left the crowd in an unexpected hush. In a city that never sleeps, Kamara managed to create a pause, a collective moment of listening.

Conclusion: off-white, but never off-key

Kamara’s Off-White is not trying to blend in, and thankfully, it doesn’t. The clothes are designed not to look like anything else, and they succeed swaggering through references to sport, music, and art without losing their bite. With “Fountain of Youth,” Kamara offered more than a collection; he offered a manifesto on energy, culture, and defiance. And in New York, of all places, defiance never goes out of style.

ALL THE LOOKS FROM THE COLLECTION: