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.
这是破天荒第一回：不久前，“黑人时装设计师”展览在纽约时尚科技学院博物馆(The Museum at FIT)拉开帷幕，这场划时代的时装秀展示与讴歌非裔血统时装设计师的贡献。黑人时装设计师如今仍是业界小众。“Voguerunway.com展示的所有时装设计师中，黑人设计师只占1%。”纽约时尚科技学院博物馆馆长瓦莱丽•斯蒂尔(Valerie Steele)说。最重要的是：这场时装秀并非展现时尚共性，而是展示黑人设计师的多样才华，它展出了亚瑟•麦吉(Arthur McGee)与卫斯理•坦恩(Wesley Tann)上世纪中叶、纽约知名设计师威利•史密斯(Willi Smith)上世纪80年代以及Hood By Air的最新款时装。