Runway Royalty
This section explores the influence of Black dandyism within high fashion, with a focus on various runway shows. The featured collections drew heavily from British tailoring and military silhouettes, evoking 19th-century dandy aesthetics of sharp lines, ornate detailing, and a blend of masculine and feminine codes.The model’s appearance in a lime green cropped military jacket, complete with braided frogging and a dramatic top hat, was not only visually striking but historically layered. It referenced both European dandy traditions and Black performance histories, including minstrel show attire and cabaret costuming, where Black performers often had to exaggerate elegance as a form of subversion and survival.Black models have long been excluded from or tokenized within the fashion industry. Yet, these models and others brought global visibility to a tradition of Black sartorial excellence that existed well before the runway took notice. Their presence in this collection signaled a shift: Black women were no longer just muses or afterthoughts, they were anchoring the dandy aesthetic itself.The “Runway Royalty” section situates fashion moments like this within a broader genealogy of Black dandyism, linking the tradition of meticulous dress, self-styling, and visual critique to contemporary high fashion. It frames the catwalk as a site where Black elegance, resistance, and innovation converge.
Title: Naomi Campbell on the Runway
Model: Naomi Campbell
Designer: Vivienne Westwood
Collection: Fall/Winter 1995 Ready-to-Wear
Photographer: Unknown (Runway photography)
Year: 1995
Look: Sharp tailored gray skirt suit with exaggerated hips, bowtie, crisp white shirt, knee-high white boots, and a tilted red-and-black stacked felt hat
Visual Description:
Naomi Campbell struts down the runway exuding hyper-femme confidence and dandy energy, wearing a sharply tailored ensemble inspired by Edwardian and Regency men’s fashion. The cinched waist and padded hips echo historical silhouettes with a radical, empowered twist. The cherry-on-top? A theatrical red hat worn at a defiant tilt.
Contextual Notes:
Vivienne Westwood’s FW95 collection was a celebration of 18th-century dandies and British tailoring filtered through her punk sensibility. Naomi’s look flips gendered fashion on its head, placing a Black woman at the center of a narrative often reserved for white aristocracy and European effeminacy. It’s a visual assertion of fashion as power, performance, and rebellion.
