The press loved the idea of an ‘American in Paris’, coming out of the tradition of people like Joséphine Baker … Patrick marketed his designs in a new way.¹ – Mary Ann Wheaton, former CEO and president, Patrick Kelly Inc.
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Fashion Culture | BUTTONS and BOWS, etc.!, A PICTORIAL View, The Patrick Kelly Story
I hope when they think about me, they think of being happy. There’s so much sadness in the world. And if you can stick a button on something or funny hat, I’m the one for you.¹ – Patrick Kelly
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Fashion Culture | “I LOVE Lycra Dresses and Spare-Ribs”: The Patrick Kelly Story
Patrick Kelly (1954–1990) also loved “Fried Catfish, Fried Chicken and “Foie Gras” …, Buttons and Bows, Pearls and Popcorn, Madame Grès, “I Love Lucy”, Bette Davis, Martin Luther King, and All Women (Fat, Skinny, and Between…).”¹
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Fashion Culture | Beauty, IDENTITY, and Representation: The Patrick Kelly Story
Every exhibition is its own intellectual exercise and exhibitions start conversations. – Laura L. Camerlengo, Associate Curator of Costume and Textile Arts, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, and presenting curator, Patrick Kelly: Runway of Love
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Fashion Culture | A Study of Eight, The Untold American Story
A Study of Eight is a literary composition advancing the study of African Americans’ contribution to fashion history. Eight American stories cover people and events of cultural and historical significance occurring between 1880 and 1980 against the backdrop of the post Reconstruction era to beyond the Civil Rights Movement (CRM). These stories represent the voices […]
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Fashion Culture | The Cotton Factory – ‘the Good, the Bad and the Ugly’
Cotton, the most widely used textile fiber in the world, has a distinguishable, contentious history of oppressed, discriminatory labor practices in the United States. The use of cheap factory labor has its roots in an all too familiar story of oppression and segregation.
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Fashion Culture | W.E.B. Du Bois’ Exposition des Nègres d’Amérique Transformed the World’s View of Black in America
In 1900 a transformation of Black identity and the world’s view of Blacks in America took center stage at the 1900’s World’s Fair in Paris. A perception of Blacks in America was manifested through photojournalism and visual data witnessed by the outside world looking in. Those in the Black community validated that perception by leveraging […]
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Fashion Culture | Elizabeth, Fannie, Anne, and Zelda, Fashion’s First Black Designers
I love my clothes and I’m particular about whom I sew for. I’m an awful snob. I’m not interested in sewing for café society or for social climbers. I do not cater to Mary and Sue. I sew for the families of the social register. – Anne Lowe Gerri Major, Ebony Magazine, December 1966
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Fashion Culture | Who Made the Hats for Scarlet O’Hara? Meet Mildred Blount
Mildred Blount became the first African American member of the Motion Pictures Costumers Union. Her hats are in the collections of California African American Museum and Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
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Fashion Culture | Donyale, Naomi, and Beverly – Fashion’s First Black Supermodels
The Black community did not have model representation in mainstream fashion magazines until the tumultuous time of the 60’s when Donyale Luna, Naomi Ruth Sims, Beverly Johnson were the first Blacks to grace the covers. Black beauty had been denied to enter this space for so long, so finally, there was inclusion, respect, and recognition, […]
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Fashion Culture | The Empowering Effect of Ebony Fashion Fair
From civil rights to the catwalk, Ebony Fashion Fair defied all odds and left an empowering effect on the African American community. The cumulative effect of years of presenting high fashion to African Americans, on African Americans, with African Americans taste-making in mind, enabled Mrs. Johnson to be a change-agent who harnessed the power of […]
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Fashion Culture | Battle of Versailles: ‘This Was the Real America, An America They Haven’t Seen’
A passionate declaration from Bill Cunningham, American fashion photographer of the New York Times, who remembers that the Black fashion models at the Battle of Versailles fashion show brought together a cultural movement that not only marked a new era in fashion, but was a defining moment in racial equality.
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Fashion Culture | Willi Smith: The Creative Intersection of an American Genius
I don’t design clothes for the Queen; but for the people who wave at her as she goes by. – Willi Smith
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Fashion Culture | Aryanization and the Destruction of Berlin’s Fashion Industry
By 1930, Berlin emerged as an international fashion capital. It’s success even drew Parisian fashion designers. Most of the fashion businesses were owned and operated by German Jews. In their thrust to decimate the Jewish population, in 1933 the Nazis implemented a campaign to force these firms to sell. Signs in store windows read “Germans […]
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Take a LOOK. . .The History and High Fashion of Menswear | ‘Reigning Men’ Exhibition
Reigning Men: Fashion in Menswear 1715-2015, Los Angeles County Museum of Art [ LACMA] Exhibition, explores the history of men’s fashionable dress. Spanning 3 centuries of men’s fashion, this exhibition explores the looks of “dandy” to “mod” to “ultra chic” and how political and cultural influences shaped fashionable dress for men. 200 looks brilliantly curated, […]
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Oscar de la Renta, The Exhibition, Through My Eyes as a Visual Artist
I do not deal in trends. I deal in emotions. It’s about the emotion fashion gives you. – André Leon Talley, former American editor-at-large for Vogue magazine, curator Oscar de la Renta: The Retrospective The glamorous flow and flair of Oscar de la Renta. This de Young Museum, Oscar de la Renta: The Retrospective, exhibition generated […]
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How Radical is Fashion Innovation?
This is what I think of innovation: It takes creativity to have the vision of a great idea, concept, or product. It takes courage, conviction, and determination to believe in it and follow it through to full execution and exposure [this is true of all artists]. One of my favorite magazines is i-D. I recently […]
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