Both Off-White and its parent firm, New Guards, have recently undergone a reorganisation of its respective executive mastheads, which took place behind the scenes of both of these companies. Under Ibrahim Kamara’s artistic direction, NGG’s front of house brand—the one that first catapulted the company to its current standing as a powerhouse—remains in a state of continuous growth. During the previous season, Kamara sent us to the moon (but not in a cryptographic sense) by means of Sierra Leone. In this resort series, he continues to probe the cultural spaces formed by the shifting dynamics of the digital diaspora, globalisation, and the weight of human identity in the 21st century.

The collection had been given the name “Homecoming.” According to Kamara, “It’s about going back to the fundamentals of Off-White.” In addition to that, I wished to design a line that embodies the American spirit… As a member of a native African tribe, I investigated how my perspective differs from that of Americans and how we may connect it to the original inhabitants of the Americas. According to accounts provided by astronauts, the moment you get on the moon and gaze down, you understand that we are all descended from the same origin. Kamara explained that he was attempting to communicate in an “indigenous global language.”

This objective was translated into a collection that was replete with signifiers that were unique not only to Off-White but also to more general cultural brands. Kamara pitted both against one another with cowboy stereotypes in “Western” tailoring with broken “Buffalo” pinstripe, whose shapes also suggested a process of Ray Petri-ation via the designer’s Londoner sensibility. This was accomplished by using “Western” tailoring. Pieces of twisted, draped womenswear were created by combining rib-jersey and lace vests and hybridising the two materials. We ventured into Stevie Nicks territory with our elegantly draped, lace-edged yellow leather gowns. Don Henley was another inspiration for this look. A design that Kamara said would become a recurring home motif was tattoo reliefs that were etched on knitwear and handkerchiefs. These were found across the women’s and men’s sections, as was a scanning print that was intended to represent the Off-White-esque in-between state of travelling the world. A baseball, several gaming gadgets, vitamins, and paperwork pertaining to the Off-White brand were some of the things that were found in it.

Pinstripes and prints with the number 23 were designed, and athletic grosgrain stripes were incorporated into tailored clothing. A jacket and shorts were made from basketball leather for one of the menswear looks, while a paisley-edged knit button-up with Gabicci-like details had that important number on the back. Kamara stated that the recent cooperation between the brand and the Chicago Bulls had sparked his identity in this space (the number 23 was Michael Jordan’s number). A freshly expressed version of the company’s four-arrow insignia was used on layered, oversized denim and gabardine field jackets, and a Manhattan skyline intarsia headed by a hot air balloon was included on a side-zipped knit sweater. “We’re back on earth,” Kamara remarked, “exploring beautiful clothes that you want to wear.” 

The Collection