The People Gallery TikTok Page Is Capturing Some of the Best Street Style in New York City

You never know whom you may run into while wandering around the streets of SoHo. Maurice Kamara knows this all too well. On July 5, he ran into Lil Uzi Vert in front of the Rick Owens store. He was wearing yellow Rick Owens x Champion pants and red and white Louis Vuitton x Nike Air Force 1s with a custom red Goyard bag slung over his shoulder. He was all smiles as he calmly ran through his outfit and flashed a bag full of cash. Kamara kept the energy up with some of his go-to phrases like a loud “Dayum!” or “Stop playin wit ‘em.” Back in June, he recorded a quick video of Demna, Balenciaga’s elusive creative director, as he stood idle at an after-party in New York as red lights and bass-heavy music pumped behind him. He didn’t speak a single word but threw up a peace sign to conclude the encounter. If either of these moments sound familiar, you may have seen them while scrolling through TikTok. They live on his growing page, the People Gallery. 

The celebrity cameos get the most attention, but Kamara also highlights everyday people with good style. As viewers get a closer look at the outfit, Kamara will ask the subject some general questions from behind the camera like their name, a description of their outfit, or their favorite meal. Some subjects provide clever quips like Uzi who proclaimed he was wearing a thermal in the summertime because “ain’t nobody hot as me,” or Skepta who smiles as he says “money” is his favorite meal with a bottle of Clicquot champagne in his hand. Other answers are more straightforward. The outfits do the talking. When asked how he’s been able to track down so many names, he answers with a laugh.

“I literally just run into these people. I don’t know how,” says Kamara, the 35-year-old Brooklyn native who has worked at various luxury retailers in the area for over 15 years. “I feel like I’m walking my path, and God puts me in the position because it’s some days where I’m like, ‘How the hell do I meet these people?’ It’s insane. People think it’s PR stunts or people reaching out to me. I’m literally just walking and minding my business.”

Kamara isn’t the first person on the internet to create these types of videos. He even notes London’s Icykof, who has filmed with the likes of Kendrick Lamar and Drake over the years for his Unknown Vlogs YouTube channel. But having racked up 371,000 followers and counting on TikTok in a little over a year, it’s clear he’s carved out a lane for himself on the popular social media platform. As his Rolodex of celebrity cameos increases, his following will only keep growing. Other accounts have attempted to create similar videos of their own, but Kamara believes his videos have no problem standing out. 

“I feel like a lot of other videos are very dull. For them, it’s just a trend. But you can hear the passion in my voice in my videos,” says Kamara. “This is not something that I’m just doing because I think it’s trendy or I’m looking for attention. There’s so many people that have come after me and are trying to do these videos. It’s oversaturating the market, and it’s not good. I really want people to feel good when they get stopped and know that this is serious business. I’m really giving them their flowers.”

We recently spoke with Kamara via FaceTime as he was trekking through SoHo to discuss how he keeps running into all of these celebrities—whom he hopes to film for People Gallery in the future—his goals in fashion moving forward, and more.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.