Black Style
Edited by Carol Tulloch
Paperback £19.95 ISBN 1 85177 424 6

The highly distinctive styles created by black men and women of
the African diaspora over the last fifty years have been moulded by
politics, cultural exchange and the desire of different social groups
to forge a distinctive identity.

Published to accompany a new exhibition opening at the V&A,
Black Style, edited by Carol Tulloch, is a strikingly illustrated and
authoritative book. It examines the diverse style in clothing, textiles,
hair and accessories, of black people in West Africa and Jamaica
and reinvented on the streets of the United States and the UK.

The dress culture of people of African descent is rich in history
and cultural significance and has had a significant global impact.
In Black Style, specialists on dress &/or black studies, from
different parts of the African diaspora, expand on this phenomenon.
Each have engaged with these issues through different
approaches: literature and black studies; cultural and visual
studies; textile and dress history.

John Picton looks at West Africa and the relationship between the
vibrant textile patterns dyed and woven by local tribespeople and the
statuesque robes worn by West African communities, while Carolyn
Cooper concentrates on Jamaican dress and class tension Susan
B. Kaiser, Leslie Rabine, Carol Hall and Daryl Ketchum highlight
hip-hop culture within a broader historical context, placing the
concept of respect, originating in the early years of slavery, at the
centre of African-American style identity. Editor Carol Tulloch draws
on a wide range of examples of black style, from the Evangelical
church and gospel singers to family events such as weddings and
funerals, the world of pop music, carnival and street markets.
She portrays the multiple strands that make up black dress and
identity in Britain.

Black Style portrays the wonderful diversity of approaches to fashion and individual style within the black community, and addresses the significance
of dress in political and socio-cultural terms. It is essential reading for
students and anyone with an interest in fashion and popular culture.

More about the Author and Contributors
Carol Tulloch is Senior Research Fellow in Black Visual Culture at Chelsea College of Art and Design, and the Victoria and Albert Museum. She has a particular interest in black dress, on which she has lectured and written
many articles.

Carolyn Cooper is Professor of Literary and Cultural Studies at the
University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica

Carol Hall has recently completed a Doctorate in Textiles and Clothing
at Iowa State University

Susan B. Kaiser is Professor of Textiles, Clothing and Gender Studies
at University of California,Davis

Karyl Ketchum is a Doctoral Student of Cultural Studies
at University of California, Davis

John Picton is Emeritus professor of African Art at the University of London

Leslie W Rabine is Professor and Director of Women and Gender Studies
and Professor of French at University of California, Davis

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