The Problem with Representation in Vintage Clothing

June 12, 2020

These past couple weeks have been eye opening for me in a lot of ways, to say the least. But it shouldn’t have been eye opening - it shouldn’t have taken me this long to really SEE what’s been going on for far too long, to delve deep into my white privilege, to avidly and continuously educate myself. I now understand the importance of being actively anti-racist, and using my platform as a business owner in an industry that desperately needs diversity.

While I was doing research for this newsletter, I extensively searched for black designers from before the year 2000, whose pieces would now be considered Vintage. I’d find a name and type it into our internal database, comprised of extensive details on our 4,000+ pieces (of Vintage AND Contemporary). Disappointed and embarrassed by my findings, I began reverse-searching; we went through our database, googling the name on every Vintage label that we didn’t immediately recognize. Some labels were more difficult to track down than others, and many Vintage pieces have no labels at all. As we expanded our search, we discovered that it was nearly impossible to find the founders of the few brands we could actually track down. When we did find them, the founders were almost always white, and out of the few POC represented, even fewer were black. 

Of the black designers we did find, there was little to no press about them and their work was largely accredited with the white lead designers or white institutions where they worked. We chose not to feature those pieces today, but instead to feature Vintage pieces that are properly credited to black designers.

Shamefully, we only have a few of those pieces in the entire Vintage portion of our archive: a Vintage button bodysuit by Patrick Kelly, a Vintage paisley coat by Tracy Reese, and a Vintage pink skirt suit by Alvin Bell. While there are thankfully more black designers in Contemporary fashion (and in our own Contemporary collection), there is still not nearly enough representation.

This research process made us confront the degree to which black-made art and black voices have been white washed and silenced throughout history - especially in our own industry, the world of fashion. Rather than on the merits of designer or brand prestige, I’ve always chosen the clothes that speak to me. But now and moving forward, I need to pay attention and surround myself with black voices, actively incorporating the amazing work of black designers, black artists, and pieces from black-owned vintage shops into LIDOW ARCHIVE. 

We are eager and dedicated to continue educating ourselves, and also to learn more about the history of black artists in fashion. In the meantime, below are some amazing black designers from the 20th century, with links to one of their Vintage pieces available for purchase via second hand websites:

Alvin Bell, Amsale Aberra, Ann Lowe, Byron Lars, Dapper Dan, Gordon Henderson, Jon Haggins, Kimora Lee Simmons, Ozwald Boateng, Patrick Kelly, Scott Barrie, Stephen Burrows, Tracy Reese, Willi Smith 

With love and more learning,

Haile & the LIDOW ARCHIVE Team