Ibrahim Kamara, SINEGAL (From EXTREME BEAUTY for Vogue Italia), 2019
For my first brief contribution to this new project I’ve chosen three pictures taken from “SINEGAL”, a short film which premiered at the “EXTREME BEAUTY” event by Vogue Italia in September 2019. In fact, the name given to the party is pretty much what this is about. Even without knowing about Kamara’s life story (which I strongly encourage you to go read and watch interviews with him because it’s fascinating in itself), I think from these picture you can tell he has an extraordinarily imaginative spirit.
What Kamara creates with his partners like Rafael Pavarotti in this case, is the natural consequence of a childhood spent between Sierra Leone and Gambia. The lack of technology and the cultural richness of those lands has allowed him to develop an inventiveness that now he masterfully mixes up with the references to the London clubbing scene, which he was exposed to once he moved there as a teenager, and where he eventually found his masters Barry Kamen and Judy Blame.
In each and everyone of his works Ibrahim Kamara offers us a portion of a world of his own. A place where he is free to be unapologetically himself, also using alter egos such as Sinegal, the protagonist in the pictures above, who literally dances fiercely and proudly through society challenging it on its stereotypes and, ultimately, on beauty.
What Kamara puts together is a world of extreme beauty and in this particular moment we are living, I personally believe a presence of his kind is very important. I want to live in his world.
And in closing, keep in mind that in fashion it’s always pretty much about team work, so I encourage you to check out his other works with amazing collaborators like Paolo Roversi or Harley Weir, among many others.
We do not own the rights of any of the pictures. All the rights go to the authors of the pictures.
Full credits
Pictures taken from “SINEGAL”, a film directed by @stephenisaacwilson for @vogueitalia EXTREME BEAUTY IMAGINED by IBRAHIM KAMARA @ibkamara, music @lafawndah, produced by @julie.machin, movement direction @saul.nash, PM @ellatoalgangar AD @enoleawesome, set @studio_augmenta, casting @11casting edit @lainyblack, DOP @jackreynoldsdp, grade @jasoncolourist, makeup @thom.walker hair @jembomb EP @mauriziovontrapp@jsorton, cast @tabooade@yagamoto@cktrl@hisnameisdeneille . @ferdinandoverderi@efarneti@franragazzi@robertaninapinna@alessiaglaviano@artandcommerce, production company @pulsefilms
If you want to know more about Ibrahim Kamara you can check out this interview on the Vogue Italia website here.