Off-White Creative Director Ib Kamara Announces Exit From The Iconic Fashion Label

Ib Kamara is stepping away from Off-White after working at the fashion house founded by the late Virgil Abloh.

Kamara’s departure was announced on Aug. 31 after he spent four years guiding the brand’s creative direction following Abloh’s death in November 2021.

“Off-White is bigger than any one idea, exactly as Virgil intended — a house with genuine values, rooted in culture, community, and the belief that fashion can speak to everyone,” Kamara said in a statement, according to Vogue. “I leave with enormous pride in all we have made.”

Born in Sierra Leone and raised partly in Gambia, Kamara built a career spanning styling, publishing, art direction, and fashion design before reaching the top creative role at one of the industry’s most recognizable labels. He first connected with Abloh on Instagram in 2019 and began working with the brand as a stylist. Following Abloh’s untimely passing, Kamara became Off-White’s art and image director before officially taking over as creative director in 2024. During his tenure, LVMH acquired a 60% majority stake in Off-White in 2021, while Abloh retained the remaining 40%.

The label’s former parent company, New Guards Group, was sold to Farfetch for $675 million in 2019. After Farfetch’s collapse, LVMH sold Off-White to Bluestar Alliance in 2024. Joey Gabbay, the CEO of Bluestar Alliance, credited Kamara for helping carry the label forward.

“We are deeply grateful for Ib’s vision, creativity, and the remarkable energy he brought to Off-White throughout his tenure,” Gabbay said.

Off-White has yet to announce a new creative director. However, the appointment will be closely watched as Bluestar Alliance determines how to build on a brand whose identity remains deeply connected to Abloh’s legacy. Founded in 2013, Off-White helped blur the line between luxury fashion and streetwear, becoming a major force in the industry’s embrace of culturally driven, accessible design.

Abloh once described his ultimate design ambition as “making a global community” beyond the elitism and territorial boundaries of fashion subcultures. That mission remains one of Off-White’s most valuable assets — and its next creative leader will inherit the challenge of turning that cultural equity into the brand’s next era.

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