It’s a first: the Black Fashion Designers show that opens at The Museum at FIT in New York on December 6 is a definitive and celebratory look at the contribution of designers of African descent. Black designers remain a minority in the industry. “Only 1 per cent of designers on Voguerunway.com are black,” says Valerie Steele, director of the museum. Significantly, the show — which includes mid-century pieces from Arthur McGee and Wesley Tann, 1980s pieces by New York superstar designer Willi Smith and recent work by Hood By Air — isn’t attempting to suggest a commonality of style, but rather celebrating the diversity of black talent in fashion.
這是破天荒第一回：不久前，“黑人時裝設計師”展覽在紐約時尚科技學院博物館(The Museum at FIT)拉開帷幕，這場劃時代的時裝秀展示與謳歌非裔血統時裝設計師的貢獻。黑人時裝設計師如今仍是業界小眾。“Voguerunway.com展示的所有時裝設計師中，黑人設計師只占1%。”紐約時尚科技學院博物館館長瓦萊麗?斯蒂爾(Valerie Steele)說。最重要的是：這場時裝秀并非展現時尚共性，而是展示黑人設計師的多樣才華，它展出了亞瑟?麥吉(Arthur McGee)與衛斯理?坦恩(Wesley Tann)上世紀中葉、紐約知名設計師威利?史密斯(Willi Smith)上世紀80年代以及Hood By Air的最新款時裝。