Centraal Museum Utrecht displays the exhibition Voices of Fashion: Black Couture, Beauty and Styles, in which iconic designs, models and sources of inspiration promote a more inclusive fashion legacy. The show will be the first ever staged by an art museum in the Netherlands to query the white gaze as the default vantage point from which to present, wear and collect fashion.
In this multi-disciplinary exhibition, fashion curator Ninke Bloemberg teams up with fashion activist, co-curator and founder of Diversity Rules, Janice Deul, to examine how Black designers have influenced the world of fashion, what stereotypes continue to exist, and how beauty is perceived. “Black people are often said to be the Curators of Cool, but this isn’t always recognized or acknowledged where it matters. This lack of recognition has all to do with power and history. And that’s why I’m so excited about this show. It’s a celebration of black beauty, talent and culture that we hope will provide food for thought and give models and designers the credit they deserve,” said Janice Deul.
Voices of Fashion was created in close collaboration with designers, photographers and models from the Netherlands and abroad. The visually striking exhibition design is by AFARAI’s Afaina de Jong, and the exhibition is structured according to several themes.
The exhibition opens with a display of couture by domestic and international Black designers, including Thebe Magugu, who won the prestigious Lvmh prize for young designers in 2019; Virgil Abloh, creative director of men’s fashion at Louis Vuitton and founder of the label Off-White; Rushemy Botter and Lisi Herrebrugh who are represented with two ensembles: one which they created for Nina Ricci and a second iconic design by their own Botter label. The exhibition also shows an indigo-coloured skirt and jacket created by Maria Grazia Chiuri, the first-ever female creative director at fashion house Dior, in collaboration with the African designer Pathé Ouédraogo as part of Dior’s Resort 2020 collection, and an iconic evening gown made of down, from Moncler, the result of a collaboration between Valentino’s creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli with the Ethiopian label Lemlem, founded by model and designer Liya Kebede.


Voices of Fashion
Black Couture, Beauty and Styles
June 5–August 15, 2021

Centraal Museum
Agnietenstraat 1
3512 XA Utrecht
The Netherlands


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