CULTURAL MOMENT: “Black by popular demand” was the theme of Ib Kamara’s fall 2024 show for Off-White. With a diversity of Black talent both on and off the runway, the play on words got the guests talking about what that phrase meant to them.
“Be yourself, own who you are,” advised Serena Williams. “Black is popular, and it’s culture, and it’s changing culture. It’s been changing culture for decades, honestly forever. It’s in popular demand, I love it.”
It seemed she had been sharing notes on self-empowerment with Tierra Whack, who has a new album coming out mid-March. “I’m giving it my all, I didn’t hold anything back,” she said of the project. “Black to me is freedom,” said the rapper and singer, who was attending Paris Fashion Week for the first time. “It means everything to me. If I wasn’t Black I wouldn’t be anybody, I wouldn’t be anything,” she explained before greeting best friend Willow Smith with a giant hug. “I haven’t seen her for so long,” she explained.
“Being Black is powerful and amazing, and I’m just so happy to be here,” said Halle Bailey, who also has new music coming out soon. “Ib is amazing. The work he has done with Off-White is so special, so to me, to be here to support him is something I’m so looking forward to.”
British model and entrepreneur Leomie Anderson, who will soon be back on screens in the U.K. presenting “Glow Up” on the BBC, is another fan of the artistic director. “Ib has come here to show everybody who he is authentically, and I feel like we’re gonna see a lot of cultural moments that are really relevant to the Black community,” she said.
