Ib Kamara Exits Off-White as Creative Director
Ib Kamara and Off-White have mutually agreed to part ways, ending the creative director's tenure at the label founded by the late Virgil Abloh (WWD).
The separation closes a chapter that began in the spring of 2022, when Kamara — a longtime Off-White collaborator who had worked closely with Abloh — was appointed the brand's art and image director, months after Abloh's death in November 2021 at age 41 (WWD). Off-White had operated without a creative head in the interim (Business of Fashion). Kamara was later promoted to creative director (WWD).
The label he leaves behind has itself changed hands. Bluestar Alliance, a brand-management firm founded by Joey Gabbay and Ralph Gindi in 2007, acquired Off-White LLC — the company that owns the Off-White brand — from LVMH in September 2024. Gabbay serves as Bluestar Alliance's chief executive officer, while Off-White is run day to day by CEO Cristiano Fagnani (WWD).
Under Bluestar Alliance's ownership, Kamara staged three fashion shows across New York and Paris. His first New York show for the brand debuted in September 2024 at Brooklyn Bridge Park (WWD). His earlier Paris collections drew on deeply personal material: one told a narrative of space travel and his native Sierra Leone (WWD). Throughout his time at the house, Kamara melded African craft and futurism with American sportswear (WWD).
Kamara's path to Off-White was anything but conventional. Born in Sierra Leone, he took refuge in The Gambia during the country's 11-year civil war and settled in London at sixteen (WWD). Before and during his Off-White tenure, he also served as editor-in-chief of Dazed, the British fashion and culture magazine, before parting ways with that title in 2025 (WWD). Later that year, he launched Raw Materials, a creative agency he described as a space for new voices in the industry (WWD).
Bluestar Alliance stated that it remains open to future collaborations with Kamara (WWD).
Off-White's most recent collection, Fall Winter 2026, is titled "Lights of Youth" and is conceived as a metaphor for travel and discovery, drawing from the mystical echoes of India and the edginess of Europe while remaining grounded in American culture and symbolism (Off-White).
The brand has not named a successor.
