Image credit: Margaret Rose Vendryes, Igbo Billy – Billy Porter, 2020.
By Viviane Faver
FASHION” happens in NYC until October 29th.
The exhibition ‘Styling: Black Expression, Rebellion, and Joy Through Fashion’ will be shown at Nordstrom NYC until October 29. Presented in partnership with Long Gallery Harlem and curated by Souleo, it is a celebratory exploration of style within the Black culture as a historical form of creative expression, rebellion against oppression, and a source of joy. The show is also available at Artsy, where you can discover and collect the exhibited works through a viewing room.
The early 1920s marked the beginning of an iconic cultural movement that would become known as the Harlem Renaissance. Championed by scholar Alain Locke, this movement defined a new Black artistic aesthetic and firmly established Harlem as the world’s Black cultural capital.
Locke promoted a new appreciation for Black artists’ creative production, revolutionizing and influencing Black self-expression in literature, the performing and visual arts, and fashion. It is the latter artistic discipline that shapes the focus of Styling: Black Expression, Rebellion, and Joy Through Fashion.
The first thematic thread of creative expression considers the universally human and innate desire to express oneself. Since the beginning of human existence, adorning one’s body satisfied both a practical need and willingness to assert individual and communal identity.
Highlighting how this manifests specifically within the history of Black style are several works that reference the African ancestral legacy of creative expression across the wide range of African cultures. Traditional masks, headdresses, hats, and fabric prints are showcased in both historically accurate and imaginatively reinterpreted works.
For example, painter Margaret Rose Vendyres presents Black celebrities’ images and reimagines them with the addition of in her series, The African Diva Project.
The result is a visual reminder that conversations about Black style must begin with an acknowledgment of the long and varied history of creative and stylish expression rooted in the continent of Africa.
The second theme looks at the Black style through the lens of rebellion. Placing sartorial choices within the context of the fight for social justice are works that look both to the past and present of the Black experience in America.
For example, Beau McCall’s Triple T-shirts Freedom Fighter Collection spotlights historical Black figures such as abolitionist Harriet Tubman, political activist Marcus Garvey, and socially conscious recording artist Nina Simone.
Each shirt is connected with two additional ones that feature statements such as “Black Lives Matter” and “#StandAgainstHate.” Thereby demonstrating the symbolic ways in which Black style is used as a form of protest.
The theme of style as rebellion extends throughout the exhibition, beyond the topic of race, to also encompass issues of gender and sexuality. Artist Dianne Smith’s new media investigation into Black women’s history and fashion from the Harlem Renaissance era to today spotlights Black models.
These individuals helped redefine the image of a stylish Black woman by choosing to present themselves in ways that ran counter to their time’s acceptable norms.
Expanding the scope, wearable artists present gender-neutral garments that subvert strict lines of what defines women’s and men’s fashion. By not placing their creations into either gender category, they represent the Black style’s fluidity and evolving nature as it challenges the status quo.
The final thematic thread weaving the exhibition together is: Joy! During contentious social and political times, the ability to find joy through fashion is a celebration of the varied, enduring, and inspirational ways that styling one’s body has been and continues to be a powerful act to affirm oneself. This joy is present in many of the works, from the fun and flamboyant afro wigs created by Ricky The Jones of AfrolipglossOriginals to the numerous smiling faces in the portrait by Elan Cadiz.
Styling: Black Expression, Rebellion, and Joy Through Fashion is a sartorial escapade through the multifaceted representations of contemporary Black style and cultural significance.
The exhibition celebrates the legacy of using personal style to channel self-expression, rebellion, and joy as inspired by movements such as the Harlem Renaissance.
Thus, giving substance and expansion to the meaning behind making a “fashion statement.” A portion of art sale proceeds from Styling: Black Expression, Rebellion, and Joy Through Fashion will benefit the Howard University Art Gallery and student programs.
ARTISTS REPRESENTED IN EXHIBITION
Anthony Olubunmi Akinbola, Elan Cadiz, Willie Cole, EPPERSON, Felicia Megan Gordon, Gregory Gray, Hollis King, Beau McCall, Ruben Natal-San Miguel, Busayo Olupona, Yelaine Rodriguez, Dianne Smith, Stephen Tayo, Ricky TheJones of AfrolipglossOriginals, and Margaret Rose Vendryes.
ABOUT NORDSTROM NYC
The Nordstrom NYC Flagship is located at 225 West 57th Street, near Columbus Circle in New York City. Store hours are Monday – Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; Sunday from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Admission to Styling: Black Expression, Rebellion, and Joy Through Fashion is free. For more information, please call Nordstrom NYC at (212) 295-2000.
