Design diversity
New exhibit explores legacy of black fashion designers
NEW YORK — As a girl, Tracy Reese thought she might be an architect. Then she caught the fashion bug.
She knew, of course, that designers who are black like her existed. She used to snap up Willi Smith at The Limited growing up in Detroit. She headed to New York with high hopes.
“When I first came to New York, my eyes were really opened to the breadth of the industry, but I was looking for our place in it,” recalled Reese, who has dressed first lady Michelle Obama.
Reese, along with other noted designers of color, Jeffrey Banks and Laura Smalls among them, spoke at the opening of a new exhibition, “Black Fashion Designers,” at The Museum of the Fashion Institute of Technology.
Running through May 16, the show offers a glimpse into exactly how impactful designers of color have been through the decades, including Reese, Banks and Smalls. Smalls has seen her dresses worn seven times by the departing Obama.
They also know the challenges of striving for beauty in design while attempting to break through in an industry still dominated by whites.
“Designers of color don’t get a lot of publicity, and so many of the businesses are not sizable. It’s tough to get recognition,” Reese said, standing amid rows of mannequins spanning decades of diverse black voices in fashion.
Reese’s father provided initial startup money when she first went into business for herself.
“I had to go out and get loans. I did a lot of paper writing. A lot of business planning. I had to have a lot of assistance because I didn’t have business training,” she said. “That’s usually what a banker wants to see, or a financial person. It’s a kind of closed industry. And as difficult as it is for a person of color, you really have to rise through the ranks high enough to grab the attention of the people who are holding the purse strings.”