The FIT Soul Club Oral History Project

Andrea Kleine, FIT Library, Cataloging Associate

Collaborators:
Karen Trivette, Professor, FIT Library, Head of Special Collections and College Archives
Samantha Levin, FIT Library, Curator of Digital and Audiovisual Assets
James Ferguson, FIT Library, Special Collections Associate
Joseph Anderson, Assistant Professor, FIT Library, Digital Initiatives Librarian
Leslie Preston, Assistant Professor, FIT Library, Head of Acquisition & Metadata Services
Paul LaJoie, FIT Library, Access Services Manager

 

The Soul Club of FIT was organized in 1968 after the death of Martin Luther King, Jr. The club was instigated by Clara Branch of the Fashion Design Department who served as the club’s advisor until her retirement in 1991. The purpose of the club was to share and celebrate Black heritage and culture, and it is best remembered for its annual
standing-room only event, The Soul Fashion Show, which was held at FIT from 1971 through the mid-1990s. 

Inspired by the Soul Club fashion shows’ exuberance, positivity, dynamism, and joy, the FIT Library conducted an oral history project with faculty, students, and alumni to share the experience of the Soul Club with the community. This project culminated in a public event featuring a panel of speakers, excerpts from the Soul Club fashion show
videos, and a library exhibition of materials from the FIT College Archives.

For this oral history project, FIT alumni and faculty members were interviewed about their participation and experience in the Soul Club. 

The FIT Library has taken a leadership role in the long-term preservation, storage, and asset management of the project. Videos of the oral history interviews will be made available via the library’s online portals, Archive on Demand and the Special Collections and College Archives.