East Village, NYC

Lost Histories: Black Fashion Designers’ Legacy

Join us at Standard Space at The Standard, East Village on February 25 for a conversation between Shelcy Joseph of NYCxClothes, Elizabeth Way the Curator of Costume and Accessories at FIT and Johnathan Michael Square a Professor of Black Visual Culture at Parsons. The conversation will touch on the historical contributions Black designers have made to fashion and the far-reaching impact Black fashion continues to have on culture and the world.

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Elizabeth Way:

Dr. Elizabeth Way is the Curator of Costume and Accessories at The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), as well as a fashion historian whose personal research focuses on the intersection of Black American culture and fashion. Her recent exhibitions include, Fresh, Fly, Fabulous: 50 Years of Hip Hop Style, Food & Fashion, Ann Lowe: American Couturier and Africa’s Fashion Diaspora. She edited the book Black Designers in American Fashion.

Jonathan Michael Square:

Dr. Jonathan Michael Square is the Assistant Professor of Black Visual Culture at Parsons School of Design. He earned a PhD from New York University, an M.A. from the University of Texas at Austin, and a B.A. from Cornell University. Previously, he taught in the Committee on Degree in History and Literature at Harvard University and was a fellow in the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Most recently, he curated the exhibition Past Is Present: Black Artists Respond to the Complicated Histories of Slavery at the Herron School of Art and Design, which closed in January 2023, and co-curated Rendering Revolution, which closed last week. He is currently preparing for his upcoming show titled Almost Unknown, The Afric-American Picture Gallery at the Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library. A proponent of the use of social media as a form of radical pedagogy, Dr. Square also leads the digital humanities project Fashioning the Self in Slavery and Freedom.

Shelcy Joseph:

Shelcy Joseph is an editor, brand consultant and content creator whose work focuses on personal style, garment history and consumer culture. She is the founder of Market Appointment, a fashion newsletter and event series pulling back the curtain on the inner workings of the fashion industry. Her writing has appeared in ESSENCE, Wall Street Journal, Who What Wear, and more.