By Nikitha Fester, BCTF staff
“Isn’t that just dandy?” A common yet dated turn-of-phrase to indicate that something is excellent or, when used sarcastically, terrible. The original definition of dandy refers to a “man who draws attention by unusual finery of dress and fastidiousness manners.” (1) The term is used to describe the MET Gala’s 2025 theme Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, where Black dandyism will be on full display. The co-chairs of this year’s gala are Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton, Pharrell Williams, A$AP Rocky, and honourary co-chair LeBron James, celebrities all known to be fashion icons. The centring of Black men’s fashion and the almost exclusively male chairing team (Vogue Editor Anna Wintour remains chair of the event), suggests a step toward increased diversification and an explicit nod to Black fashion. However, Black people have been vanguards of fashion long before they had access to the MET Museum.
Take for example the zoot suit. Born during the roaring 1920s, this look is identified by its oversized pants with a tapered ankle (to facilitate dancing), oversized jacket with padded shoulders, wide lapels, and fedoras. A decade later the suit saw a resurgence, this time popularized by both Latino and Black communities in the United States. It’s popularity amongst young men was polarizing. On the one hand, it was dubbed the only truly American suit, on the other hand, it was known as a badge of delinquency. The zoot suit rebirth occurred during the Harlem Renaissance and during the Second World War. Thus, American patriots saw its excessive use of fabric as wasteful during a time of need and deemed its wearers draft-dodgers, thugs, and gangsters. An undercurrent of racism and white supremacy lead to the zoot suit riots of 1943. Zoot suits were subsequently banned.(2)
Nonetheless, zoot-suit wearers persisted as an act of rebellion. Fashion has been, and remains to be, a way to resist and redefine culture. From zoot suits to Dapper Dan, from Telfar Clemens to Pharrell William’s appointment as Louis Vuitton’s Men’s Creative Director, Black men have been and remain innovators of fashion.
This lesson plan is centred around exploring Black fashion. Suitable for Grades 7 and up.
Lesson plan
Lead a minidiscussion around fashion trends (what students like, dislike, etc.).
Explain to them how fashion can be an act of resistance or rebellion, use the example of zoot suits.
Explain to students how Black culture is often appropriated into high fashion, but Black people (Black fashion designers) are seldom known or welcomed into high fashion.
a. E.g., stealing from Black designers, use of Black hair stylings (dreadlocks, braids, cornrows) on non-Black models, use of African textiles and jewelry.
Watch the following clips about Black fashion with your class:
b. Dapper Dan (start at 3:00 min. mark).
Discuss the student’s take-aways from both videos.
For homework have students look up a Black fashion designer and bring an image (printed or on their phones) of a design they like from their chosen designer.
In small groups, have students discuss their chosen looks, what they like about them, why they chose them, and where they would wear the outfit, etc.
Talk about the term “dandy” and what it means and how it relates to fashion. You could talk about the MET Gala co-chairs as examples of dandy. You could also discuss the queer history of dandyism, specifically centring racialized queer communities’ contributions to cultural innovation.
Inspired by the fashion they found, and examples seen in class, have students design their own dandy look.
Materials
- paper person cut out
- markers
- pencil crayons
- fabric scraps
- magazine cut outs (e.g., images of textures and prints)
- glue.
Have students write a short description of what makes their design dandy.
1 etymonine.com, 2021
2 See the wikipedia.org article “Zoot Suit Riots” for a thorough history.