Exhibitions

Africa's Fashion Diaspora examines fashion as a medium of storytelling and as a vital way for designers to contribute to longstanding and evolving ideas of transnational Black cultural spaces. Whether described as Négritude, Pan-Africanism, the Black Atlantic, Black consciousness, or Afrofuturism, Black thinkers and creatives, from philosophers to writers, musicians, and visual artists, have theorized cultural connections between diverse communities of African descent. This exhibition explores designers from Africa, the Americas, and Europe who interpret and construct the culture of their distinct localities and communities for an international audience and/or reach across geographies to tie Black cultural practices together through their designs.

Examples include South African designer Sindiso Khumalo's textile print inspired by American abolitionist Harriet Tubman, British designer Grace Wales Bonner’s tuxedo informed by the court of Emperor Haile Selassie in Ethiopia, and French designer Olivier Rousteing's collection for Balmain based on Black American cowboys. Through approximately 60 ensembles, textiles, and accessories, Africa's Fashion Diaspora illustrates how fashion designers have contributed to international dialogues to chronicle, evaluate, and expand modern ideas of Blackness. 

Africa's Fashion Diaspora is curated by MFIT associate curator Elizabeth Way.

Image: Sindiso Khumalo, printed cotton dress detail, spring 2021, South Africa, museum purchase, 2023.32.1