The Birth of Cool: Style Narratives of the African Diaspora

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Description

It is broadly recognized that black style had a clear and profound influence on the history of dress in the twentieth century, with black culture and fashion having long been defined as cool. Yet despite this high profile, in-depth explorations of the culture and history of style and dress in the African diaspora are a relatively recent area of enquiry. The Birth of Cool asserts that cool is seen as an arbiter of presence, and relates how both iconic and ordinary black individuals and groups have marked out their lives through the styling of their bodies. Focusing on counter- and sub-cultural contexts, this book investigates the role of dress in the creation and assertion of black identity. From the gardenia corsage worn by Billie Holiday to the work-wear of female African-Jamaican market traders, through to the home-dressmaking of black Britons in the 1960s, and the meaning of a polo-neck jumper as depicted in a 1934 self-portrait by African-American artist Malvin Gray Johnson, this study looks at the ways in which the diaspora experience is expressed through self-image. Spanning the late nineteenth century to the modern day, the book draws on ready-made and homemade fashion, photographs, paintings and films, published and unpublished biographies and letters from Britain, Jamaica, South Africa, and the United States to consider how personal style statements reflect issues of racial and cultural difference. The Birth of Cool is a powerful exploration of how style and dress both initiate and confirm change, and the ways in which they expresses identity and resistance in black culture.

Reviews

An amazing new celebration of black style, from Billie Holiday to Malcolm X the product of a lifetimes research. * The Observer *
Readers/researchers interested in understanding the style practices of the African diaspora, or looking for ways to understand the field from a position that allows for a richer and more complicated ways of observing dress history [will] certainly get something from this book. * The Journal of Dress History *
In this engaging book, Tulloch (Univ. of the Arts, London) expands on her work on the styled black bodyShe uses an image or objectof the 2006 Stoned Cherrie Steve Biko T-shirt, sayand discusses its cultural weight and significance, presents readings and wonderings (from her colleague Mona Choo), and then offers her own alternative reading. The end result is a winsome mix of approaches to her subjects, backed up by serious scholarship. Summing up: Recommended. * CHOICE *
The Birth of Cool makes a unique contribution to studies of dress and culture, as well as to black studies and diaspora studies. Tulloch deconstructs and reconstructs black aesthetics to open new pathways for understanding the lives and social histories of figures like Billie Holiday and Malcolm X. It is one of the most impressive works I have read in years. * D. Soyini Madison, Northwestern University, USA *
The Birth of Cool offers a passionate reflexive analysis of transnational black glamour as an expression of undeniable presence, knowledge, and agency. As a foundational text, this book offers readers a deeper and more historical understanding of contemporary 'cool response' activism perhaps most famously practiced by Barack Obama, but visibly evident across the entire African diaspora. * Annette Lynch, University of Northern Iowa, USA *

Author Bio

Carol Tulloch is Professor of Dress, Diaspora and Transnationalism at Chelsea College of Arts, University of the Arts London, UK. She is also the Chelsea College of Arts/Victoria and Albert Museum Fellow in Black British Visual and Material Culture.