Fashion Neurosis with Bella Freud: IB Kamara

November 19, 2025

Episode Overview

In this candid and intimate conversation, fashion designer Bella Freud sits down with IB Kamara—creative director, stylist, editor, and now musician—to explore the intricate relationship between fashion, identity, and self-expression. The discussion journeys through Kamara’s childhood in Sierra Leone and The Gambia, his move to the UK, developing creativity amid adversity, the complexity of intimacy and identity, boundary-pushing style, and the inner worlds clothing reveals. They touch on the philosophical, emotional, and political significance of dress, and Kamara’s approach to legacy, self-acceptance, and his creative leadership at Off-White.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Early Influences and Creativity Without Means

• Growing up in Sierra Leone and The Gambia: Kamara describes a childhood without television or internet due to civil war, leading him to rely on his imagination for entertainment and coping.
  • "There was no TV...we played outside as best we could. But I had so many things in my head that wanted to explore as a child...I started dreaming bigger and bigger." — IB Kamara (03:22)
• Kamara’s first exposure to global culture and fashion came through watching BBC and CNN news presenters, whose tailoring and style became a code embedded in his subconscious for later work.
  • "To me they were my superstars...I saw the way they dressed...and that was my first entry into the world." — IB Kamara (04:57)
• He notes how the visual language of presenters made political communication more absorbable in childhood, especially for someone living in a warzone. (05:58)

2. Separation, Intimacy, and Self-Understanding

• Fifteen Years Apart from His Mother: Kamara discusses the emotional impact of being separated from his mother for much of his childhood as she moved to the UK as a refugee.
  • "I didn't really understand love for a very long time...for a long time I just hid a lot. And it does affect me to this very day...but that's for the greater good." (08:02)
• The conversation delves into how the absence of a parent can instill self-doubt and ongoing work to reclaim wholeness.
  • "The lack of a mother's love...can sort of give you the shadow of self-doubt for a long time that I think you just have to find a way to heal from." (11:50)

3. Style, Materiality, and Perfectionism

• Kamara distinguishes between a love of style and materialism, recalling a childhood where options were few, and clothes were lovingly handmade by local tailors.
  • "I'm more obsessed with people and people's style...Some brilliant tailor putting so much love...I'm not materialistic, but I love style. I love when people make an effort." (13:25)
• On perfectionism and self-dressing versus styling others:
  • "I find it much more exciting to dress somebody else...the human body is such a beautiful canvas...it doesn't need to reflect my physical presence, but it does reflect my mind." (19:16)

4. Fear, Mentorship, and Self-Acceptance

• Kamara recounts a key mentorship with stylist Barry Kamen, who gave him a book about fear that deeply influenced his approach to risk-taking and expression.
  • "The book taught me that when you are afraid, it's also a selfish act because you're depriving something beautiful to happen...it gave me power, speed..." (15:24)
• Learning to accept his unique perspective and background—"My calmness is fine, my perspective is okay. My love for where I'm from is fine." (15:24)

5. Daily Rituals, Shyness, and Creative Recharge

• Kamara describes the importance of 5-8 a.m. as his sacred time for writing, singing, running, saying: "Those periods are my time and I selfishly guard them to my heart...it's a happy dose in the morning for yourself." (23:55, 25:14)
• On managing shyness in public spaces:
  • "I just run to the bathroom for a little bit...step out of the room, get some fresh air, tell myself it's fine...you can hang around, you can, you're funny." (22:02)

6. Dual Life, Coming Out, and Freedom at Central Saint Martins

• Kamara reveals the tension between parental expectations (studying medicine) and his urge for creative freedom, especially as a young immigrant in the UK.
  • "Coming out to my parents about not wanting to study science was much harder than coming out [as queer] for me." (28:02)
• He discusses living a dual life—hetero-passing by day, club kid by night—and the freedom and acceptance he found at Central Saint Martins.
  • "At night, I was a dancing queen...I was living these two lives, but I'm a Gemini, I can find my way around it." (28:02)

7. Masculinity, Sexualization, and Cultural Differences

• Kamara contrasts expressions of masculinity and physical affection between Africa and the West, discussing Western tendencies to sexualize and categorize identity.
  • "In Africa, two men could hold hands...they were just friends and family...in the West, we put so much emphasis on titles." (32:15)
  • "There was a level of respect for body...being nude does not emphasize sex...it was all the Western projection of sex on my body." (32:54)

8. Legacy, Self-Doubt, and Creative Direction at Off-White

• Reflecting on succeeding Virgil Abloh at Off-White, Kamara describes the responsibility and self-doubt but emphasizes honoring the inclusive, collaborative spirit Virgil created.
  • "I adored Virgil...Virgil built a universe, and we all were able to find ourselves in his own universe...taking on that job...I was so terrified...but I can only create honest clothes...with my lived experience. I can only be Ibrahim Kamara." (37:29)

9. Body Image, Expression, and Romantic Partners

• On self-acceptance:
  • "I'm at an age where I truly embrace every single part of my body...there's no more hiding." (41:03)
• On partner’s style:
  • "I always, usually when I've dated, I find a way to change the person's style...I start plotting before it's even started." (42:50)

10. Styling, Collaboration, and the Importance of Respect

• Kamara values open-minded collaborators: "I love that energy...it makes me want to give you the best universe...it becomes difficult when someone doesn't respect art or expression." (45:19)
  • "Clothes are like an add-on; you use clothes to tell the story, but the person is the story." (46:49)

11. Alter Egos and Self-Exploration

• Kamara discusses his alter egos—Sensitive Thug and Seagal—as creative explorations of vulnerability, toughness, and duality.
  • "Sensitive Thug was like a rebellious character, but inside, I'm the biggest softie...at the gym to pass as tough, but deep down, I'm just a princess, trying to figure it out." (48:57)
  • On the value of alter egos: "Sometimes you see somebody and think by how they're dressed, you can't talk to them, but...there's so much layers...we're all summary when we're in the shower singing, we're our own superstars." (52:37)

12. Collaboration, Expectation, and Musical Debut

• Kamara admits feeling nervous, but remains driven by respect for art and creative collaboration: "There's a lot of pressure, but we're still gonna do it...I can only outdo myself." (54:20)
• On launching his EP "Pop Romance" with friends: "For this project I'm just myself...it felt like home, just finding the courage to step into music...it's been the summer of romancing with music." (56:59, 58:57)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On creative courage:
  "When you are afraid, it's also a selfish act because you're depriving something beautiful to happen." — IB Kamara (15:24)
• On separation and resilience:
  "I might not be the 70% wholesome...but I'm happy at my age, I am finding peace with those parts of myself that were deprived of that." (11:50)
• On Off-White and legacy:
  "You can't replace Virgil...you can just continue in your own universe that you had formed in his own world, and letting your universe be the next chapter." (37:29)
• On body image and identity:
  "I'm at an age where I truly embrace every single part of my body and me. I am happy in my skin." (41:03)
• On collaboration:
  "I think humans give you their best when they feel safe, when they feel loved, and when they feel like they understand, no matter how crazy your idea is, they can find some human link in there or comfort in that." (46:49)
• On vulnerability and alter egos:
  "We're all summary when we are in the shower singing...that's the most vulnerable space where a human is just being a human." (52:37)

Key Timestamps

• 03:22 – Kamara on childhood imagination, war, and first creativity
• 04:57 – Influence of TV newscasters’ style on his fashion sense
• 08:02 – On parental separation and intimacy
• 15:24 – Lessons on fear, self-expression from Barry Kamen
• 19:16 – Styling others vs. self, perfectionism in fashion
• 23:55 – Morning rituals for self-reflection and creativity
• 25:54 – Religion, self-expression, and double life as an immigrant student
• 32:15 – Cultural differences in masculinity and queer identity
• 37:29 – Taking over Off-White after Virgil Abloh
• 41:03 – Embracing body and self-image
• 45:19 – Kamara’s philosophy on styling, collaboration, and respect
• 48:57 – On alter egos: Sensitive Thug and Seagal
• 54:20 – Thoughts on creative pressure and artistic expectation
• 56:59 – Releasing his first EP and returning to musical roots

Tone & Atmosphere

Bella Freud maintains a warm, thoughtful, and confessional tone, inviting Kamara into deep self-reflection and storytelling. Kamara’s responses are candid, humorous, occasionally vulnerable, and always grounded in gratitude and a quest for authenticity.

This episode of Fashion Neurosis fuses the personal with the professional, showing how style becomes a language for healing, identity, and self-actualization, especially for those navigating displacement and expectation. Kamara’s journey is a testament to courage in creativity and the power of style to both shield and reveal the self.