Composite: Background Curioso on Unsplash; top Alexander Coggin for The New York Times; bottom: IB Kamara Instagram.

Ib Kamara, editor in chief of Dazed Magazine has been named Art and Image director of Off-White™️, tapped to carry on the legacy of late designer Virgil Abloh, who also served as artistic director of Louis Vuitton Men.

According to an Instagram post shared on Saturday by Off-White™️, Kamara “will be joining a collective of creatives and overseeing the artistic direction of the brand.” Off-White is part of the New Guards Group portfolio of brands, which is owned by Farfetch.

New Guards Group and Off White

New Guards Group has had a licensing arrangement with Virgil Abloh — not for his name — but for the Off-White™️. Complex outlined the structure of Abloh’s relationship with New Guards in July 2021. At the time LVMH acquired a 60 percent interest in the Off-White™️ trademark while Abloh retained a 40 percent interest and continued as the brand’s creative director.

Virgil Abloh’s relationship with New Guards ended with his death in November 2021.

In what is one of the best business articles I’ve read, Susan Scafidi, the founder and president of the Fashion Law Institute at Fordham University explained to Complex:

“What’s clear is that, however much business Virgil has done through Off-White LLC in the past or may do in the future, he’s wisely kept his own personal name just that—personal—and not turned it into a corporate asset. LVMH is acquiring majority ownership of the company that holds the Off-White brand name and other trademarks, and it has hired and promoted the man, but his name is still his own.
Going back to the tweet, as a non-legal matter, does the announcement of the deal indicate that LVMH is investing in Virgil Abloh, in the sense that the company is buying into his creative vision and wants to promote and profit from it beyond LV menswear? Absolutely.”

The current contract with New Guards Group cannot be terminated until 2026. Obviously, LVMH has existing business and brand relationships with Farfetch and there is no reason to expect problems among the parties, as Off-White™️ solidifies its new structure, post-Virgil Abloh’s passing.

Ib Kamara: A Human with Deep Vision

Virgil Abloh and Ib Kamara connected on a deep level. The younger man explained their connection on IG:

Virgil will forever be with us. With me. He changed the world and left an indelible mark on anyone who encountered him and beyond. Generous with his time, mind and creativity - he saw everyone and created with all humans in mind. I am honored to further link my ties to Off-White™️ as their Art & Image Director and be a part of the team that will tell the rest of the story Virgil started writing for us all” - Ibrahim Kamara, Art&Image Director Off-White™️.

Ib Kamara Instagram

Born in war-torn Sierra Leone in 1990, Kamara fled to nearby Gambia, staying with an aunt and uncle. Kamara moved to London at the age of 16, to be with his parents who wanted him to study science.

Ibrahim Kamara had little interest in pursuing a career in science, and he turned his attention to communications in the world of fashion. The New York Times interviewed the visionary stylist last September, traveling in Gambia to retrace his past.

“I’ve been traveling by land and not air in Gambia for six days now, just driving through some of the places where I grew up and soaking it all in,” he said, hunching over his phone camera as a lazy ceiling fan chugged overhead. “How I tell fashion stories has been shaped so much by my early life here, from my community upbringing and being so close to nature to early memories of glimpses of Western magazines and pop videos. I’ve been wanting to come back for some time now. Too long, actually.”

Ib Kamara’s vision is deeply invested in the changing nature of Black African masculinity. In 2016, the artist jointly curated with Johannesburg photographer Kristin-Lee Moolman a set of 60 images called ‘2026’. Installed at Somerset House in London, ‘2026’ was part of a larger presentation, “Utopian Voices Here and Now.”

Anne of Carversville has followed Ib Kamara from his early days in fashion, addressing his value to LVMH and fashion generally, with our particular focus on Kamara’s subterranean, psychic ability to probe and articulate unconscious-minds and ancestral connections with modern life.

We are tremendously excited about his new role with Off White and his larger contribution to the world of fashion and this larger conversation about Black masculinity — which, of course, taps into masculinity at large. ~ Anne

Ib Archives @ AOC

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