Steele Plant’s latest exhibition, Black Women as Muses: Stories of Designer Inspiration, explores the relationship between Black fashion designers and their muses as part of the creative process. This exhibit is the gallery’s longest running exhibit. It will run until summer.
This exhibit was created by Simone Jackson ’23, Abigail Thomas ’23, Daijia Canton ’23, and Anna-Lise Torras ’23 as part of their senior capping project. With the help of Professor Sonia Roy, this idea was implemented.
The students worked on this concept for five months. “We first started brainstorming ideas back in November 2022, and started by shortlisting a number of Black designers. We all met in person at the beginning of the spring semester, and our professors With the help of my connections and the CFDA, I started reaching out to these designers. [Council of Fashion Designers of America]” said Anna Lise Torres. “We then met remotely with the designer and started picking up the clothes about two months ago, and everything was set up very quickly from March 20th to her April 4th opening day. I did.”
The exhibition focuses on designers such as Patrick Kelly, Zelda Wynn Valdez, Kevan Hall, and Willie Smith. These talented designers made history with their clothes, but their looks weren’t complete without the perfect model.
Many designers rose to fame from the 1950s to the 1990s and had iconic women from this era as their muses. For Patrick Kelly, Patricia Cleveland was the perfect inspiration. Cleveland was one of the first African American models to be recognized on the runway in the 1960s. This recognition gave Kelly the opportunity to use Cleveland in her own designs, strongly asserting her own fashion abilities.
Existing celebrity connections between other designers, such as Kevan Hall and Diana Ross, were touched upon at the exhibition. Ross, a pop, soul and disco musician, has made a name for herself as an empowered black woman, which inspired Hall to focus on the lives of black communities in her designs. I placed it.
Upon entering the gallery on the ground floor of Steel Plant, visitors are greeted with intense pops of color, patterns, and funky music. The mannequins are fully costumed from head to toe, with hair, clothing, shoes and accessories, representing the designer’s work and muse. Many clothes incorporate patterns such as pinstripes, lace, and even vinyl records. A variety of materials are used to add texture to garments, including silk, buttons, and sequins, which designers focus on when creating.
The exhibition also includes African-American Barbie dolls and Bratz, with thanks to Bryon Lars. These dolls are very strong and accurate representations of African American complexion, hairstyle, and clothing.
