Patrick Kelly: Runway of Love
By Laura L. Camerlengo, Dilys E. Blum, Sequoia Barnes, Darnell-Jamal Lisby, madison moore, Eric Darnell Pritchard, and André Leon Talley
Patrick Kelly (1954–1990) was known for his bold, bright, and joyful fashion creations that resonated in the streets and nightclubs and on the runways of New York, Paris, and beyond. The first American and the first Black designer to be admitted to the governing body of the French fashion industry, Kelly boasted celebrity couture clients including Madonna, Cicely Tyson, and Gloria Steinem. His designs are distinguished by a combination of playful aesthetics and a willingness to brazenly foreground race and heritage and push cultural boundaries, including racial tropes like golliwogs, or Black baby dolls.
Generously illustrated with hundreds of images of runway photography, garments on mannequins, and never-before-published archival materials, the book Patrick Kelly: Runway of Love is an unprecedented exploration of Kelly’s influential career, which was tragically cut short by complications from AIDS. More than 80 of Kelly’s most beloved works are featured alongside thoughtful essays focusing on his work in relationship to French fashion, Queer identity, Black identity, and his exuberant runway shows. Also featured is a detailed timeline decorated with archival photographs and drawings, making this volume the definitive resource on Kelly’s life and work.
Author
Laura L. Camerlengo is associate curator of costume and textile arts at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
Dilys E. Blum is the Jack M. and Annette Y. Friedland Senior Curator of Costume and Textiles at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Sequoia Barnes is an artist and advising scholar for the exhibition Patrick Kelly: Runway of Love.
Darnell-Jamal Lisby is a fashion historian and assistant curator at the Cleveland Museum of Art.
madison moore is assistant professor of queer studies in the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Eric Darnell Pritchard is the Brown Chair in English Literacy and associate professor of English at the University of Arkansas.
André Leon Talley is Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Letres and former creative director of Vogue magazine.
