How Maurice Kamara Captures NYC Street Style and Fashion

• The People Gallery has become one of the more popular fashion pages on TikTok.
• The page is run by Maurice Kamara, a 35-year-old fashion stylist from Brooklyn.
• Kamara spoke with Insider about his celebrity encounters and the motivation behind the page.

You could be the next person featured on one of the internet’s most popular fashion accounts.

 “What’s your name, and where are you from?”

“Can you describe your fit?”

“If you could give anyone a styling tip, what would it be?”

“What’s your favorite meal?”

“What’s your zodiac sign?”

These are some of the rapid-fire questions Maurice Kamara typically asks everyday people on the streets of New York City — if you have a fire outfit.

Kamara is a 35-year-old Brooklyn native who has created a dedicated following by doing impromptu fashion breakdowns, primarily in the chic streets of SoHo.

Known as The People Gallery (@thepeoplegallery), Kamara has amassed over 630,000 followers across TikTok and Instagram. He has interviewed supermodels, influencers, rappers, and actors, among others.

Kamara, who works for a luxury designer brand in the city, has proved that he has an eye for fashion.

Most recently he stopped to chat with “Bones and All” actress Taylor Russell and Grammy-nominated rapper GloRilla. He also spoke with late Migos rapper Takeoff and New York’s very own  Cardi B. 

Some of his other outfit breakdowns from this year include a wide range of other notable celebrities such as singers Doja Cat and Ari Lennox, models Evan Mock and Lori Harvey, actress Issa Rae, former football star Eli Manning, and Jaden Smith. He also spotlighted rapper Yasiin Bey, previously known as Mos Def.

Kamara prides himself on his content being authentic. Even when he bumps into the biggest of stars, it’s their ensembles that draw him in before he recognizes them or knows what they do for a living.

“When I did Taylor Russell. I didn’t even know who she was. I didn’t know her, but her outfit was amazing,” Kamara told Insider. “She saw how many people were on my page already and was so excited to do it. When she saw Alexa Demie, it made her feel comfortable.”

Kamara is never seen but always heard in the background of his videos commending the person he’s interviewing. With New York being an epicenter of fashion, it serves as the perfect backdrop for his content.

“I think New York is way bolder than other places. There are certain things you could wear in New York, that I feel like if you go somewhere else, people look at you like you’re crazy,” he said. “So, in New York City, the comfort level when it comes to fashion is like no other. I feel like you’ll see people step out of the box a little bit more and take more risks in New York City because the comfort level here is different than anywhere else.”

One day he decided to hit record, and the rest is history

 

Screenshot/@thepeoplegallery/TikTok

Growing up in Brooklyn, Kamara was into fashion from a young age. He remembers working at his first job and saving up to buy the newest pairs of Jordans. And his influences also included hip-hop culture, which was everpresent in his neighborhood.

Before The People Gallery, Kamara would record his friends’ outfits and post them on his personal Instagram stories — but he knew he wanted to expand outside his inner circle.

“One thing about me in New York City, I’m always giving people compliments about their outfits, and I think it’s something that I wish more people would do,” Kamara said. “And as time went on, an idea popped into my head like, ‘You should document it.'”

He kept procrastinating until one day, he was in Brooklyn and saw a man wearing a 70’s inspired outfit. In the video, the man is wearing a thrifted button-down, which was long, patterned and sheer. He said he added a purple feather boa to complete the look. He also had black bell bottoms and glasses with a green tint.

“I saw this kid with an amazing outfit I never saw before in my life. And I was like, ‘If I want to start now, this is the time,” he recalled. “I just pulled my phone out and I asked him can I record him? He said yeah. And I did.”

“I was very nervous. I saw him coming miles away. I’m like, ‘Holy shit. I’ve always wanted to do this, and here’s the kid coming towards me. Here’s my opportunity.”

‘I’m a people person’

 

 

Courtesy of Maurice Kamara

 

For a fashion enthusiast, working in SoHo has its perks.

Kamara could be at work when a person like Lil Uzi Vert pulls up to a store in the neighborhood. The “Just Wanna Rock” rapper hopped out of his car in front of the Rick Owens store when Kamara made his move. He credits this interaction with helping his page get to the next level.

“A lot of times, I’m even surprised myself. I know people think all this stuff is set up,” he said.

“I’ll be minding my business, I’ll be walking somewhere, going somewhere, and I would just see a person with a good look. I don’t just do any celeb.”

It’s Kamara’s enthusiasm and warm demeanor that gets celebrities to trust him on the spot. He recalls when he came across one of his favorite actors, Bokeem Woodbine.

“When I met him one day on Canal Street, I let him know what I was doing and that I was trying to get him on my page.  He told me he couldn’t do it today, but he’ll do it tomorrow. I thought he was giving me the runaround, but he actually gave me his phone number,” Kamara explained.

“I was able to contact him the next day he told me to meet him somewhere, and he will do the video. And after he did a video, he told me that the reason why he did a video was because he liked my hunger, the way I approached him, and he loved what I was doing.”

Aside from public figures, Kamara interviews people from around the world, and his page is a reflection of that. He has taken his knack for capturing the best fits from fashion week in New York to overseas in Paris.

“I’m a people person. I know people go through a lot in everyday life. So, just being to talk to people from all walks of life is the type of energy that I love.”