Africa’s Fashion Diaspora

The first scholarly book to examine a wide breadth of the African Diaspora and its influence on international fashion

Tracing the local and global impact of Black Diasporic designers, Africa’s Fashion Diaspora is the first scholarly book to examine the diverse perspectives and significant roles that Black designers have contributed to the creation of international fashion culture. With a focus on the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, this book features some of the best examples of innovative fashion throughout the period and contextualizes how diasporic designers’ work can speak to contemporary issues, including decolonization, sustainability, and social equity. Diasporic designers cannot be monolithically defined--they come from varied cultures and their work speaks to their personal experiences, as well as wide ranges of influence.

Including the work of such designers as Oliver Rousteing (Balmain), Tremaine Emory (Denim Tears), Pathé’O, Virgil Abloh (Off-White), Patrick Kelly (1980s), Stephen Burrows (1970s), and Hylan Booker (head of the House of Worth during the 1960s London Relaunch), this volume introduces readers to important yet unexamined fashion histories that form our current fashion ecosystem and support the designers who are shaping contemporary culture.

Exhibition Schedule:

The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York
(September 18, 2024-December 29, 2024)

Elizabeth Way is Associate Curator of Costume at The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology and the curator of Africa’s Fashion Diaspora (2024). She has curated Black Fashion Designers (2016), Fabric in Fashion (2018), Head to Toe (2021), Fresh, Fly, and Fabulous: Fifty Years of Hip Hop Style (2023).