Whose American Dream?
Lena Anglin
The AUC remains a place grappling with respectability and revolution, if the divided response to Spelman and Morehouse's recent collaboration with Ralph Lauren is any indication. The collaboration, which is centered in, “the esteemed network of historically Black colleges and universities”, is both something we have seen before and something entirely new. It is the first collaboration between Ralph Lauren and an institute for higher learning, which is interesting considering how much the brand leans on collegiate-esque styles, and the first Ralph Lauren collection entirely designed by Black people. The style of the collection is familiar. The clothes, which some are describing as “W.E.B Dubois Chic'' (I laughed), includes knit sweaters emblazoned with “S” and “M”, for Spelman and Morehouse respectively, plaid skirts, tweed suits, and varsity jackets. The collection is undeniably preppy, and that makes sense considering Ralph Lauren’s entire design ethos. It is important to note that James Jeter, Director of Concept Design & Special Projects at Ralph Lauren, head of the collection’s design team, and Morehouse ‘13, dived into Spelman and Morehouse archives to capture the spirit of the era. It was Spelhouse alum who pitched the collab to Ralph Lauren, Spelhouse alum at the helm of design and marketing, and Spelhouse students, alum, and professors modeling the pieces.
I found the collaboration to be an interesting approach to using fashion and archives as tools for both sartorial inspiration and examining the climate of an era. While collegiate style is so often associated with predominantly white, Ivy league schools, the truth is that students of the AUC in the mid 20th century wore the same things, with much more nuance and flair in their style choice. Their contributions to the lexicon of American fashion are important. I recognize this collection as an attempt to clarify that.
The AUC has an established and renowned relationship with fashion and style. We also have a history steeped in respectability politics. The mixed response to the collection, which is reminiscent of an era of Spelhouse history clouded with exclusionism, is unsurprising. I will not sit here and reduce people’s hesitations with the collection, because respectability is rooted in the very white supremacist and heteronormative ideals that so many of us came to Spelhouse to escape. We cannot divorce historical homage from the context of the age, which includes Jim Crow and the strict dress codes enforced by both colleges and were harmful to our students. But two things can be true. The collection can also illustrate people who were dressing like this long before Ralph Lauren’s inception. It encapsulates the very real Black people who drank milkshakes at lunch counters in cable knit sweaters, who danced at sock hops in head to toe plaid, and who probably wore tweed suits to argue with the registrar (a tale as old as the AUC itself). Those students were here, and their personhood is more nuanced than simply students during Jim Crow.