The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology is presenting an exhibition, Black Fashion Designers, that examines the "significant, but often unrecognized impact that designers of African descent have had on fashion."
The exhibition features approximately 75 outfits by more than 60 designers, making this the first major exhibition in many years to highlight the global impact of of black fashion designers from the '50s to the present.
There will also be a cell phone tour that will provide overview and context as you walk through the museum, with commentary recorded from the curators of the museum along with input from fashion designers Joe and Charlie Casley-Hayford, Eric Gaskins, Carl Jones and TJ Walker of Cross Colours, Andre Walker, model Veronica Webb, and André Leon Talley.
Some of the items featured in the exhibit include a beautiful wedding gown by dressmaker Ann Lowe, who is best known for designing Jacqueline Kennedy's wedding dress as well as Laura Smalls's red-and-white floral print dress, which the First Lady Michelle Obama wore when she sang with Missy Elliot and James Corden on her episode of Carpool Karaoke.
There is also a short film featuring André Leon Talley and designers Tracy Reese and Mimi Plange where they discuss the ongoing topic of diversity within fashion.
All of the objects on display are part of the permanent collection of The Museum at FIT. The Black Fashion Designers exhibit will run at the Museum at FIT from Dec. 6 through May. 16, 2017. You can find out more about the exhibit right here.
