Africa's Fashion Diaspora - Hardcover

by Elizabeth Way (Editor), Valerie Steele (Foreword by), Elizabeth Way (Contribution by)

One of the first books to examine the wide breadth of the African Diaspora and its influence on international fashion.

Tracing the local and global impact of Black Diasporic designers, Africa's Fashion Diaspora is one of the first books to explore the diverse perspectives and significant roles that Black designers have contributed to the creation of international fashion culture. With a focus on the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, this book features some of the best examples of innovative fashion throughout the period and contextualizes how diasporic designers' work can speak to contemporary issues, including decolonization, sustainability, and social equity. Diasporic designers cannot be monolithically defined--they come from varied cultures and their work speaks to their personal experiences, as well as wide ranges of influence.

Featuring cutting-edge designers such as Oliver Rousteing, Tremaine Emory, Virgil Abloh and their work in the major fashion houses of Balmain, Denim Tears and Off-White, as well as Path?'O, Stephen Burrows, Patrick Kelly and the iconic designs from the 1970s and 1980s. Hylan Booker's creative output during his time as Head of the House of Worth during the 1960s London relaunch is also explored. Africa's Fashion Diaspora introduces readers to important, yet unexamined fashion histories that form our current fashion ecosystem and support the impactful designers who are shaping contemporary culture.

Exhibition Schedule:

The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York
(September 18, 2024-December 29, 2024)

Author Biography

Elizabeth Way is Associate Curator of Costume at The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology and the curator of Africa's Fashion Diaspora (2024). She has curated Black Fashion Designers (2016), Fabric in Fashion (2018), Head to Toe (2021), and Fresh, Fly, and Fabulous: Fifty Years of Hip Hop Style (2023).