"THE FEATURE ARTICLE"

But somehow, even amid all of the glorious glitz and glamour of the SCAD FASH space, there was also an undeniable sense of grit. Beyond the infinite silk kaftans, sharp tailored suits, and custom Monolo Blahnik loafers, there was a story about a Black man who refused to shrink himself for an industry that wasn’t built to see him fully.

 

As a Black male fashion stylist, for me,  Talley’s exhibition doesn't just celebrate history. It also complicates it. It reminded me of how often Black men's contributions to fashion are admired and incorporated in the industry but never truly respected. His legacy echoes the struggles of Black men in the fashion industry. Yes, we’ve seen a few Black male creatives lead major fashion houses, like Pharrell Williams at Louis Vuitton and Olivier Rousteing formerly at Balmain. But their presence remains the exception and not the norm. 

 

According to The New York Times, in 2021, only four of 69 designers and creative directors were Black. The New York Times also reported that from 2020 up until 2021, when five top designer jobs became available, four of those spots went to white men.

 

Talley’s exhibition forced me to look beyond the beautiful clothing and face the truth that even as fashion borrows from Black culture, it still so daringly hesitates to fully embrace the same people who define it.

 

While Talley dedicated much of his personal and professional life to fashion and the industry, he also recognized its racism and often spoke out about it. Speaking to People in 2020, Talley said that there’s an unfortunate reality of being a Black man in the fashion industry. “My story is one Black man’s experience in an insulated world. I was succeeding because I had been trained to succeed, he said. “As a young, African American Black man, I was trained.”

 

Franklin Gwengwe, a SCAD student and up-and-coming Black male fashion designer, said he understands Talley’s words.

 

“Trying to make sure that my work is at a level where no one is close to it is the way that I've been trying to push who I am because as a Black man in fashion, I have to be not just good,” Gwengwe said.  “I have to be great or the best or else I’m not seen.”

 

In an interview on MSNBC, Talley told the Rev. Al Sharpton that there is inherent systemic racism that exists in “every walk of life in America.” He further noted, “It shows that even in the glamorous world of fashion, there is racism.” 

 

The lack of Black representation, especially Black male fashion figures, in prominent industry spaces has never been about ability. It has always been about race, access, and power. This lack of representation speaks to a broader truth discussed by fashion studies scholar and Fashion and Race Database founder Kimberly Jenkins in an Associated Press article.

 

She stated, “When we’re talking about Black men ... we are talking about a group, an ethnic and racial group and cultural group that has historically dealt with adversity, oppression, systemic oppression.” 

 

With Jenkins unknowingly underscoring Talley’s own experience through the layered history of discrimination against Black men, the conversation surrounding those same barriers appearing in the current fashion landscape today becomes even more pressing to me.