Whether in music or fashion, much of what is considered innovative in the mainstream has its origins in the culture of minorities, the marginalized and the supposedly fringe groups. When it comes to clothing, the black community in particular has often proven to be a pacesetter - voluntarily and involuntarily.
Suburbs, terraced houses, detached villas: here in the well-kept, white suburbia of the United States with its clean green spaces and upper middle-class limousines, the rebel wears ripped jeans and long hair. Épater le bourgeois – that is the best way to shock parents and elites who send all their pocket money to the TV preachers. In the inner city , on the other hand, where the left behind live in the run-down old buildings, the Hispanics, the blacks and the white trash, they save up for the expensive jacket in the loud colors or the lounge wear with the big brand logos : the welfare has to be enough for that! Here in the ghetto, you would be damned if you walked around in ripped clothes. On the contrary: you show what you have – no matter how you get the money. Gold chains, expensive clothes and bling on the fingers, not torn Chucks, are the currency for street credibility.
In principle, it has always been like this, even in the 1920s and 1930s, when racial segregation in the USA was enforced even more brutally and the rift in society was even more obvious. Back then, young blacks and Hispanic immigrants dressed in extravagantly tailored , exorbitantly wide suits with large lapels and trousers made of entire lengths of fabric. Zoot suits, promoted by the popular singer Cab Calloway and others, became the symbol of a pleasure-seeking youth who had little money but all the more self-confidence. That was not allowed - and so the so-called Zoot Suit Riots in 1943 led to real pogroms on the west coast of the USA. Blacks and Mexicans were attacked in the streets, taken off buses and systematically beaten by white civilians, soldiers and police officers. In times of war and rationing (including fabrics!), anyone who wore a zoot suit was automatically considered a notorious scoundrel, a par venu who was undermining white supremacy in terms of elaborate clothing.
And so, under the guise of patriotism, the colorfully dressed so-called "youth gangs" were released for a bloody hunt. For blacks and other minorities, fashion was sometimes literally a matter of life and death under these circumstances. The "wrong" item of clothing meant stress, beatings, or worse.
Fashion as a mark of distinction, as an act of rebellion and self- empowerment – that is an old story that was all too often written by black people in the USA. Of course, no one talked about it, because the all-encompassing racism condemned this strand of fashion history to damnatio memoriae, the collective loss of memory. And yet traces can still be found of how black men and women influenced the course of fashion or even created some trends. Who knows that the sensational wedding dress of the later First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy , was designed by Ann Lowe, a black designer whose name did not appear officially anywhere? Who remembers the Jamaican rude boys of the 60s who set the pace for white two-tone revivalists and skinheads with their sharply cut trilby look, pork pie hats and short-sleeved shirts ? And in Africa, the flamboyant Sapeurs (The Heritage Post No. 25) are still busy writing the history of modern dandyism on the streets of the Congo. In short: fashion did not and does not originate at the fashion weeks of western metropolises, and above all not from white sources alone.
The history of black fashion in the 20th century is closely linked to the civil rights movement and the fight of the African-American communities for equal rights - Black Fashion Matters! One name that cannot be left out in this context is Malcolm X. As a fighter for the rights of black people, he not only wanted the revolution, he also wanted everyone involved to look good. His personal sense of fashion was not only an aesthetic statement, but also helped to redefine the world of black fashion . The look of protest - as staid as it may look from today's perspective - had an impact far beyond the question "What should I wear today?" For black people like Malcolm X, fashion was synonymous with politics.
Born in 1925, the clever son of a day laborer was very enthusiastic about the street style of the 1940s and 1950s , the “Harlem Renaissance” of jazz and cool clothes, the
Zoot suits and their offshoots. Malcolm, however, reduced these fashion statements: away from the carnival look, towards an iconic ensemble of headgear, tie and suit. Like an existentialist, he usually wore a cheeky beret , while his tie was deliberately chosen so that it made a statement rather than simply serving as a formal accessory. His suits were often made of trendy, colorful materials, with detailed, luxurious fabrics - unheard of for a black man who was expected to express his low social status in his choice of modest clothing.
Malcolm X had no intention of doing so, quite the opposite. He wanted to demonstrate the power of the black man with a polished appearance: even those without rights have the right to dress well. In a way that is still relevant today, the political visionary used fashion to address the inequality of resources between white and black. By wearing expensive fabrics such as Italian silk, he pointed out the lack of economic opportunities for African Americans and at the same time affirmed the dignity and strength of black people.
This confident approach to clothing made Malcolm X one of the first leaders to influence a specific black fashion. What's more, Malcolm X's look subsequently inspired the work of influential fashion designers, including Omar Edwards and Ralph Lauren. His fashion legacy remains current - Malcolm X is still a role model for the return of dignity to men's clothing.
The legacy of radical chic is reflected in various aspects of black culture, from Afrocentric fashion to the redefined look of modern black business. It can also be found in the modern street style of hip hop fashion. Designers such as New York's Dapper Dan or rap star-meets-fashion brand Sean Combs are today the figureheads of a new black self-confidence in fashion. Above all, however, the designer Virgil Abloh, who died too early in 2021, shaped the fashion world with his brand "Off-White" , who was the first African American to define men's fashion at one of the long-established luxury fashion brands.
The fixation on brand names and logos, bling bling and expensive clothes is the distant echo of a self-empowerment that Malcolm X modeled for his fellow campaigners: Look, I can afford it too!
However, the rappers' sloppy look with its exaggerated accessories may have had too much of an influence. In the 1980s, they brought maximum comfort to the streets with their jogging suit ensembles and sneakers, once again breaking the chains of formality. Since then, limited edition sneakers have been a greater luxury than the finest fabrics. The visual urge for "casualness" permeates all age groups - while in the black community the pendulum is now increasingly swinging to the other side: in well-cut suits made of fine, often extravagantly colored fabrics, people of color show that they are once again one step ahead of the white mainstream .
Author • Carsten Sobek
Photo • skyNext, Shutterstock
Illustration • Uwe van Afferden
Published in Heritage Post No. 45