09/07/2025
You know you’re in for a treat when EVERY museum attendant beams with glee the moment you ask for directions to the Superfine exhibit!
At first, I wondered why the exhibit began with European fashion or rather our remixing and reimagining of it. That question was quickly erased by the vast depth of themes and installations.
The exhibition unfolded across 12 themes: freedom, beauty, ownership, presence, distinction, disguise, champion, respectability, jook, heritage, cool, and cosmopolitan.
opened with ownership—an act of quiet rebellion that led to Freedom and Distinction with Toussaint L’Ouverture and other forefathers of Black liberation. Proud moment for my mom. (2)
Crushed velvet adorned with cowrie shells… literal drip, an ode to the “visual language of Blackness in dress.” (3)
Talisman (not pictured)—modern-day gold chains and necklaces—were “intended to transport, protect, or empower the bearer.”
The practice of money pinning, noted as “perhaps derived from West African custom,” reclaims the concept of wearing and showering of money as a nod of celebrating the wealth we hold as royalty. (4)
From futuristic bursts of color to high-end fashion houses, Virgil Abloh’s Off-White and collabs with designers Ib Kamara and Maximilian were brilliant juxtapositions of doing the most while being minimalist. (5,6,7,8,9)
PS Love how the exhibit was designed NOT to be linear, it allowed you to move with the crowd, stepping back and forward in time.
The Harlem renaissance is one of my fav periods because of the surge of Black creatives. Respectability, reminded me of the power of assimilation. Get in, remix it and take over. (10)
Example “Zoot suit being a symbol of transgression, joy, and youth in its rejection of traditional tailoring.” From Mexicanos to Josephine Baker pictured in traditional tux, entering white spaces leaving immeasurably impact. (11,12)
Andre Leon Talley, once “the most powerful Black voice in fashion” left so much to be adored and desired in all his grander. High fashion, beauty and cool has never been the same without our, the Black influence. (13,14,15,16,17,18,19)
The beginning… (20)