Exhibition launches debate into bias against African Americans in industry

As New York Fashion Week opens on Thursday, a glaring near-absence stands out: why are there so few black models and designers at the pinnacle of the industry?

For that matter, is there such a thing as black fashion, and should black designers feel the weight and responsibility of their history and heritage?

A symposium held by the Fashion Institute of Technology this week and a major exhibit open until May have launched the debate on a more public scale.

The events seek to celebrate dozens of black designers who, the FIT says, are often under-recognized and underrepresented.

African American designers account for just 1 percent of those covered by VogueRunway.com, the main website for following fashion weeks around the world, said Ariele Elia, co-curator of the Black Fashion Designers exhibit at FIT.

"Discrimination still occurs in the fashion industry, both with designers and models," Elia told an auditorium filled with academics, students and designers.

But many say they are tired of being seen as "black designers" and want to be considered designers - period.

"It's a sad thing" that there are not more black designers at New York Fashion Week, said designer Carly Cushnie, of the Cushnie et Ochs fashion line.

"I am not sure what the real reason is for it," said Cushnie, who hails from London and is of Jamaican heritage.

"I think there's been more talk about it in recent years than there ever has been. So I am hopeful that that will change."

Cushnie, 32, shot to fame when then first lady Michelle Obama wore one of her designs - a forest-green crepe dress - for a Christmas event in 2011.

France's Olivier Rousteing, whose contribution to the exhibit is a gown drawing on the hand-woven raffia used in Cuban chairs, is one of the most famous black designers anywhere in the world today.

But he is more the exception that the rule, said Elia.

When he was named creative director at Balmain at age 26, Rousteing said, the fashion world was stunned not by his age but rather by the color of his skin.

The FIT exhibit looks back at dozens of black designers, such as Obama favorite Tracy Reese, Stephen Burrows and Willi Smith.

It highlights in particular Ann Lowe, who is considered America's first black designer at the haute couture level. Despite suffering discrimination as a student in New York, she designed the dress Jackie Kennedy wore at her wedding in 1953.

But as some black designers opt not even to think about race, others delve into the roots of the American South or African tribes.

The US designer Patrick Kelly, who died of AIDS at age 35 after being wildly successful in Paris in the 1980s, drew heavily on his southern roots and dealt with race and racism with a touch of humor that raised eyebrows.

For instance, he would give his aristocratic clients brooches in the form of shiny black babies to wear on their lapel.

And his logo was a golliwog - a black rag doll that became a symbol of racial stereotyping.