Designer Quote

2020-08-162021-03-04 by Rhonda P. Hill

You don’t have to be Black to be Afropolitan. You simply have to have an affinity for Afro culture.

Maryanne E. Mokoko

EDITOR’S Letter | HIDDEN in Plain Sight

Kyle Denman, designer, “mul·ti·po·lar—ex·ist·ence”

A Fashion Story Honors Women in Combat | Isabella Diorio

The Ashley Coat, The Cathay Dress, The Brewster Bolero | Photo: Emily Warfield

“It’s not just about the garment itself but about the story behind it.”

– Isabella Diorio | New Orleans, Louisiana

MUST See 2023 FASHION Exhibits

"Fresh, Fly and Fabulous: Fifty Years of Hip Hop Style" © The Museum at FIT

Fashion and Society, A Constant State of Interpretation| 배혜진 Hyee Jin Bae

배혜진 HYEE JIN BAE exhibit at CICA Museum, Seoul, Korea

“Typically, the visual form or design is based on the functionality, but the function of the clothing that I make differs from looking posh or preventing the cold. My clothes are designed for people to focus on the act of wearing the clothing.”

– 배혜진 Hyee Jin Bae | Seoul, Korea

Preserving the Art of Shibori | Jun Nakamura

Shibori, a modern look by Jun Nakamura

“I think the process of developing design by working on a form, sketching, and collaging is similar to that of creating art. It all challenges our creativity, striking a balance as a whole piece.”

– Jun Nakamura | London

Debussy, Renoir, and Hokusai: REIMAGINED Dead Stock at the Hand of Yun Qu

"I rely heavily on the sense of hearing to provide me inspiration instead of sense of sight." - Yun Qu

Africa Fashion – V&A Museum, Portland Art Museum

Africa Fashion, Courtesy of Victoria & Albert Museum

EDGE Afropolitan | African Diaspora Fashion Makers

Josefa Da Silva, designer, AFWLA, photo: Cindy Ceballos

The Power of Cloth and Why We Should Care | Abiola Onabule

Abiola Onabule, designer | Photo: Jessica Eliza Ross

“My interest in textiles such as Adire and Aso Oke comes from a fascination in how a textile can become the through-line of people’s lives, their personal histories, economic change and growth, political and cultural shifts.”

– Abiola Onabule | London

Early Adopters: Ukraine’s BE SUSTAINABLE! Fashion Summit

Ukrainian Fashion Week has demonstrated leadership in showcasing fashion not tied to a season by responding to a circular fashion system.

“Oyma” by Polina Veller, designer | Ukrainian Fashion Week No Season 2021, photo: courtesy of Ukrainian Fashion Week

Aryanization and the Destruction of Berlin’s Fashion Industry

Today a memorial in Hausvogteiplatz, the center of Berlin’s fashion district, marks this history.

“Today, Berlin only teaches fashion as far back to the 1950s; they don’t go further back. Talent is lost from the 1920s and ’30s, and when you don’t pick up on that, you lose a new generation of designers.”

– Uwe Westphal, as told to Atlanta Jewish Times

Rescued Rubbish is ReIMAGINED | Sayoko Kojima

“Culturally reusing and taking care of what you have and keeping it longer was much more common when I was growing up in Japan.” – Sayoko Kojima

Sayoko Kojima, designer | Photographer @manonceartist

“A Study of Eight, The Untold American Story”

"A Study of Eight, The Untold American Story", (hardbound archive, NFS) Library of Congress General Collections

NPR Here & Now showcases ‘A Study of Eight’

W.E.B. Du Bois' Exposition des Nègres d’Amérique Transformed the World's View of Black in America

“African Americans have contributed historically to fashion in ways that we just don’t know about. ‘A Study of Eight’ highlights those hidden figures and events.”

-RP Hill

Oregon ArtsWatch | Rhonda P. Hill and the EDGE of Design

Stage & Studio Dmae Lo Roberts looks at the Black contributions to fashion design throughout American history with writer, publisher and fashion expert Rhonda P. Hill.

The Golliwog: The Patrick Kelly Story

"That simple white dress, stamped with this image, became a garment that was powerful in historical relevance, designed by a Black man, as well as a sophisticated, cool message print." - André Leon Talley

Fashion Study | EDGE Suggested Resources

A Study of Eight, The Untold American Story
Aryanization and the Destruction of Berlin’s Fashion Industry
Black Past
Fashion History
Fashion History Timeline
Fashion's First Black Designers
Fashion's First Black Supermodels
History Is Rarely Black or White
Ikats from Central Asia
Meet Mildred Blount, Costume Hat Designer
Patrick Kelly: A Retrospective
The Fashion and Race Database
Traditional Dress from East Asia
Willi Smith: The Creative Intersection of an American Genius

Museum Destiny: The Case for Contemporary Fashion

Inspired by Hokusai's "The Great Wave", The 'White Feather Dress' by Hera Zhou | Exhibited at Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris; GraySpace Gallery, Santa Barbara

“Let’s keep fighting the fight for fashion as art.”

– Hera Zhou | Shanghai