Clothes Story Opens the 2025–26 Season at San Diego Mesa College Art Gallery

By Patricia Frischer

Alma Thomas (1891-1978) was the first graduate of the art department of Howard University. She was the first African American woman to have a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art. She was part of the Washington Color School which gain notice in the 60's. Her highly colored pattern lend themselves easily to fashion 

San Diego Mesa College Art Gallery  launches its fall season with Clothes Story: Draped in History, an  exhibition  curated by Atlanta-based designer Kenneth Green. This powerful show celebrates the lives and contributions of African American women through fashion history. With almost 30 meticulously recreated garments spanning 1890 to 1963 it is especially astonishing  how lavish some of these dresses are considering the low budget and the use of dollar store fabrics and notions to recreate many of them.

Diahann Carroll was the first African American women to star in a non-stereotypical leading television role as Julia. She was on the cover of Ebony Magazine in this dress.

Opera Gown and Coat that could have been worn by Dorothy Dandridge (first black woman nominated for an Academy Award) or Lena Horne. Black fashion designer started as seamstresses and dressmakers of the early 1900's. Church elegance and the Harlem Renaissance were showcases. 

Opera Gown and Coat 

Opera Dress

This dress is a reproduction of the one that Coretta Scott King who married Martin Luther was know to have worn to perform a song. She was an educator and a major leader herself in the civil rights movement

Homage to Zelda Wynn Valdes (1905-2001), the African American fashion designer who broke fashion barriers. She dressed Ella Fitzgerald and Earth Kitt and so many more including the design for the playboy bunny!

 
Each fashion item in Clothes Story carries its own narrative—revealing details about the maker, the historical moment, and the woman who once wore it. Through Green’s work, the viewer sees fashion as a storytelling medium. The women were resilient, strong, and represent the  spirit of African American women who shaped their communities and fought for change.

This Gatsby Coat and the flapper dress below signaled the freedom from layers and layers of underclothing. The dresses had very simple two seam designs but were highly embellished. 

This detail of a intricate bedazzlement is an homage to Fredye Marshall, a celebrated singer of Opera and Broadway who performed for royalty.

 

The exhibition was built from archival photographs and research rather than museum collections. Green, whose passion for costume began with his seamstress mother, his biggest inspiration,  draws on decades of experience in dance, theater, and casting—including 34 years at Spelman College in Atlanta and his work with Disney. From the trimmings of Victorian dresses that signaled wealth, to flapper-era layers that symbolized newfound freedoms during the Black Renaissance, to the story of Dorothy the house maid, who spent 4 days in jail for speaking back to a white employer when she did not want to work an extra 4 hour per day after her usual 12 hours… these clothes trace histories of social progress.

Homage to Raven Wilkinson, the first African American woman to dance for a major classical ballet company. This dress is only one of two originals in this show and will be returned to the Atlanta Ballet Company. 

Green spent a month in San Diego, preparing the fashions for display. He revealed that each dress or coat has its own personality. Some are easy to care for, others, like Big Red seem to attract wrinkles. The tutu has to be hung upside down after shipping and each layer separated to attain its full glory. It represents one of the first black ballerinas Raven Wilkinson, passing as white to perform but hounded by racist.

Big Red

back detail, Victorian luxury

Clothes Story also uses photographs and  graphics, to tell the story, including "foot notes". For example, the Battle of Versailles is about the first time black fashion models were used for a major competition between the French and American. These models stole the show in 1973! Green envisions an interactive technology added in the future, however, the next stop for a group of dresses titled  First in Their Field is Harvard Medical School. White doctors were using black women slaves to research gynecology issue to their shame. Clothing worn by the first black female doctors and nurses are on display.  

This exhibition has toured 6 college galleries and museums on the east coast and now this west coast gets its premier at Mesa College Gallery.  This exhibition is presented in collaboration with the San Diego African American Museum of Fine Art and supported by the Hervey Family Fund of the San Diego Foundation.

Kenneth Green had a 12^th grade teacher who really believed in him. Through Clothes Story, he is able not only to display history but make it come alive. Go and spend time with these clothes and maybe you will make some new friends who will inspire you to believe.  

Kenneth Green, curator and passionate organizer of this collection

Alessandra Moctezuma, Director, Mesa College Gallery who introduced Kenneth Green at his talk about the show. 

Wonderful mix of all ages and colors attending the talk

Entrance Display: all the clothes in Clothes Story are Draped in History

Clothes Story
San Diego Mesa College Gallery
August 25 - October 16, 2025
Curated by Kenneth Green
Fine Arts Building, Art Gallery, FA103
7250 Mesa College Dr. SD 92111
Closest entrance is through Marlesta/Genesee.
Gallery Director, Alessandra Moctezuma  619.388.2829
Mon – Thurs 12 to 5 pm
Closing reception  Oct 15 from 4 to 7 pm. 
Poetry by Gerda Govine-Ituarte and performance by the San Diego Mesa College Dance Ensemble led by Donna Flournoy. Dance and poetry starting at 6 pm.