OFF-WHITE recently held its autumn-winter 2024 runway show during Paris Fashion Week, presenting a collection that radiated colourful playfulness and unfiltered expression.
The collection titled Black By Popular Demand demonstrates Ibrahim Kamara’s efforts at bringing his most personal self into the house built by the late Virgil Abloh.
The collection touches on Kamara’s continuous journey and his being a person of the world, with travel opening up humanity to destinations so far apart, yet within these cultures and worlds, like-mindedness and understanding are found.
The collection is consequential of Kamara’s travels to Japan, where he was intrigued by Americana’s influence on Japanese culture.
Ideas surrounding this conception led him to reflect on the significance of black culture in Western society, with its historical to contemporary developments in music and style, such as jazz and hip-hop.
Kamara’s AW24 collection delves into the influences of travel in a playful and fun style, with fun erupting from silhouette to colour palette to fabrication and embellishment.
The collection sees the contours of womenswear depict fierce and powerful stances while demonstrating the mitigation of patriarchal fashion structures through menswear made cute and playful. Significant design codes inherent to Off-White, such as arrows, are seen adorning various garments as they finalise straps or cross collars.
Draping is visually palpable throughout womenswear this season as the delicate outlines depicted by the fabric exude an essence of modernity alongside the primitive urge to cloak the body in a material.
The collection displays a colour palette of neutral white and black amongst bright and pastel hues ranging from lime green to burgundy-like brown, fierce red, hot and pale pink, sunshine yellow and violet.
Reinforcing the garment’s playful nature, mixed-matched stars layered upon flowers and arrows, dice and butterflies embellish various pieces.
Women hone into a sense of empowerment as they elevate on high-heeled thigh-high boots, and menswear sees oversized, pristine silhouettes reminiscent of 90’s culture with a touch of cuteness in jolly buttons adorning various cardigans.
Activewear and basketball are also influential this season as oversized rugby polos and hoodies walk the runway following Wilson basketballs seen carried in netted carriers and further reimagined into padded trainers.
The Off-White autumn-winter 2024 collection oozes playfulness, energy and vigour as Karama ensures the brand’s loud and spirited nature, resisting the quietness often associated with traditional luxury.
by Nicole Pereira