![]() ![]() ![]() I’m not going to throw on jeans and a ratty T-shirt, because someone might feel that’s all I have.’ ”īlack people have always been more formal because we had to be. “We held on much longer than other communities to ‘Well, I’m going out, I’m going to look good. “We’ve always, whether we were employed or not, had to look the part as though we were,” he said. One big factor, Blackman said, is Black people needing to communicate their employment levels through their clothing. “Since the 1970s you can see a linear approach to a much more casual, less codified approach to the visual aspect of dressing and it has changed across the board for everyone,” said Mark-Evan Blackman, chair of the fashion design department at the State University of New York, SUNY Korea.īut there is a countervailing trend among Black folks because our history in America means we’ve often had to define our own moments, Blackman said. The act of dressing up for the movie also highlights the changing meaning of attire in the wider culture and how it intersects with Black folks’ approach to picking the right fit for the occasion. “We’re going to do it again for the culture, for Chadwick and for ourselves.” The financial and critical success of the original film, coupled with the death of actor Chadwick Boseman, who starred as Prince T’Challa, brings renewed significance to the new movie, said Gainer. “Of course, we’re going to get dressed for that just like we would get dressed if we had an invite to go to the Oscars or a wedding. “The first movie was an event that was the first of its kind - an expensive global blockbuster starring global Black people that was also embraced outside of our Black world,” Gainer said. “Dressing for Black Panther is basically a tradition now,” said Nichelle Gainer, the author of Vintage Black Glamour. Whether you decide to wear all white to the theater in honor of our ancestors or African-inspired attire, dressing up for a night at the movies – even as most of society moves toward more casual styles of dress – spotlights something interesting about the culture: Black people are always going to show out, no matter the occasion. As the sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, opens this week, many of us want to celebrate by looking the part. The Black Panther Effect – the fact that movies with melanated ensemble casts are both culturally and commercially successful – has hit our closets, too. ![]()
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