An exhibition catalogue accompanying a future Costume Institute exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.   Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press  

The definitive illustrated volume on the work and life of Ann Lowe, a consummate couturier who designed lavish evening and bridal gowns for members of America s social registry, a Black woman working hard behind the scenes whose important legacy has remained underappreciated until now. At the height of her fashion career, Ann Lowe s luxurious and opulent evening gowns and bridal wear were sold in upscale department stores across the country. At various times Lowe owned salons on Madison Avenue. She made Jackie Kennedy s wedding and bridesmaids dresses, but, upon arrival at the Auchincloss estate on the big day, the butler directed Lowe to enter via the service entrance (she refused). Throughout her lifetime (c. 1898 1981), her major contributions to American style were unrecognized. Vivid new photography of Lowe s couture gowns includes many details of her exquisite handwork, especially her signature floral embellishments. Essays by curators Elizabeth Way and Margaret Powell explore the trials and achievements of Lowe s life, contextualize her work within fashion history, and profile Black designers whose work reflects her influence. Texts from conservators offer a behind-the-scenes look at their extraordinary efforts to preserve Lowe s gowns.

Food and Fashion accompanies a major exhibition at The Museum at FIT, New York's only museum dedicated solely to the art of fashion. This beautifully illustrated book featuring over 100 enticing full-color images, from fashion runways to fine art photography and period cookbooks, examines the influence of food culture through the lens of fashion over the last 250 years. It focuses on the ways that food culture has expressed itself in fashion and how these connect to broader socio-cultural change, examining how vital both have been in expressing cultural movements across centuries, and specifically exploring the role food plays in fashionable expression. With its superb selection of images, and thought-provoking and engaging discussion, Food and Fashion appeals to fashion enthusiasts who have an overlapping interest in food and food studies, including scholars and students, those who enjoy the fashion of food, and all who appreciate the visual culture of food, fashion, and art.

On a hot summer night in August of 1973 DJ Kool Herc and his sister Cindy put on a 'back to school jam' in the recreation room of their apartment block at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the west Bronx. The rest is history. The birth of hip hop rippled out across the globe, influencing music and fashion for generations. Early hip hop style focused on customization from spray- painted jean jackets and sweatshirts to creased jeans and boxed laced sneakers. Before Nike had apparel, Dapper Dan made Nike fashion in addition to one-of-a-kind looks with the logos of MCM, Gucci, and Fendi. The eclectic style eventually evolved into its own apparel brands, from FUBU to Sean John, Roc-A-Wear, Billionaire Boys Club, BAPE, Baby Phat, Cross Colours, and Pelle Pelle. Sections on these individual designers run alongside thematic chapters on stylists, record labels, pink, hairstyles, nameplates, hoops, nails, and sneakers. Each chapter on hip-hop style is illustrated with photographs of performers, entrepreneurs, and iconic pieces. New research from journalists that witnessed the developments firsthand and oral histories from celebrities and designers make Fresh Fly Fabulous the definitive source for hip-hop style.

From Elizabeth Keckly's designs as a freewoman for Abraham Lincoln's wife to flamboyant clothing showcased by Patrick Kelly in Paris, Black designers have made major contributions to American fashion. However, many of their achievements have gone unrecognized. This book, inspired by the award-winning exhibition at the Museum at FIT, uncovers hidden histories of Black designers at a time when conversations about representation and racialized experiences in the fashion industry have reached all-time highs. In chapters from leading and up-and-coming authors and curators, Black Designers in American Fashion uses previously unexplored sources to show how Black designers helped build America's global fashion reputation. From enslaved 18th-century dressmakers to 20th-century "star" designers, via independent modistes and Seventh Avenue workers, the book traces the changing experiences of Black designers under conditions such as slavery, segregation, and the Civil Rights Movement. Black Designers in American Fashion shows that within these contexts Black designers maintained multifaceted practices which continue to influence American and global style today. Interweaving fashion design and American cultural history, this book fills critical gaps in the history of fashion and offers insights and context to students of fashion, design, and American and African American history and culture.

"A Sheltered Life" is a combination of true stories of victims and survivors of Domestic Violence and provides knowledge for a better understanding of Domestic Violence. Domestic Violence has many forms: Emotional Abuse, Verbal Abuse, Child Abuse, Elder Abuse, Physical Abuse, and Sexual Assault. Domestic Violence follows a pattern of events (The Wheel) and there are Red Flags every man and woman should know. Red Flags make us aware of our life around us and how we are being treated. Are we being abused when our loved one calls us a name or gets upset with us if we are not home when we say we will be? When my loved one and I go out for dinner, do we go alone or with friends? If we usually go alone, we could be becoming isolated from friends and relatives; isolation is part of the pattern of Domestic Violence. There are resources for the troubled victims and survivors that are located within "A Sheltered Life." Florida's Hotline Phone Number may be one of the most important phone numbers you may need. Just how do victims turn into survivors? What are the steps in becoming abuse-free?