Fashion is an incredibly pervasive art form in day to day life, popping up in many forms of entertainment, media, and in social media especially. For many, fashion plays a unique role in crafting identity and influencing personal taste. The fashion world, however, is also fraught with appropriation and gatekeeping, often stealing culture-specific patterns and styles while barring designers of color from success.
The Fashion and Race database brings together a bunch of resources to discuss the intersections between race and fashion. This database, created by Kimberly M. Jenkins, Assistant Professor of Fashion Studies at Ryerson University, aims to fill in gaps in fashion research that neglects the very real consequences and realities of racism in fashion by centering BIPOC voices in fashion-related articles, exhibitions, books, etc. It is an ongoing project with continued updates and content added, so be sure to bookmark it for the future!
If you’re looking for a virtual gallery visit, here are three exhibitions from the database that you can check out content from online:
https://exhibitions.fitnyc.edu/black-fashion-designers/?url=gallery-black-models
Or, if you’re looking for something to listen and learn from, check out the podcast page
Thank you for checking out today’s care package! See you next week!