On Friday afternoon, Off-White
transformed the rooftop basketball court at New York’s New Design High School into a technicolor runway for its Spring 2026 show, “Pop Romance.”
The venue was filled with murals inspired by each of New York City’s five boroughs in graffiti, a nod to one of the late founder Virgil Abloh’s many signatures, done by local artists Daze, Lady Pink, Mast, and CES. Present-day designer Ib Kamara’s fashions swaggered between them with just as much of a kaleidoscopic effect. This season, his manifesto celebrated the magnitude of Black culture’s contributions to pop culture, featuring a vivid wardrobe inspired by the ‘70s, an era in which African creatives broke through in disco, hip-hop, and streetwear, thanks to an unwavering tenacity.
“Call it invention as resistance, personal expression as a means of survival,” Kamara wrote in his show notes. “There is a vitalistic force to this urge which is forever empowering. This collection is ideally charged with that same energy and spirit, but there is nothing nostalgic about it. Rather, I am after the sense of urgency and presence that’s equally and quintessentially NYC.”
Flairs and sheer satins dominated the collection’s make-up, while prismatic tailoring offered a satisfyingly angular finish to most looks. Elsewhere, the collection included extroverted varsity jackets, an Off-White signature that felt especially fitting in the academic setting. There was also a tease of a New York Liberty collaboration, which sensibly dribbled down the court runway while the team’s mascot, Ellie the Elephant, recorded from the front row.
“In reconnecting to the roots of black culture in the city, a leap forward happens putting romance where pop is,” Kamara concluded.
See Off-White’s Spring 2026 collection in the gallery above.
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