It’s a first: the Black Fashion Designers show that opens at The Museum at FIT in New York on December 6 is a definitive and celebratory look at the contribution of designers of African descent. Black designers remain a minority in the industry. “Only 1 per cent of designers on Voguerunway.com are black,” says Valerie Steele, director of the museum. Significantly, the show — which includes mid-century pieces from Arthur McGee and Wesley Tann, 1980s pieces by New York superstar designer Willi Smith and recent work by Hood By Air — isn’t attempting to suggest a commonality of style, but rather celebrating the diversity of black talent in fashion.

“We want to revise the history of fashion by acknowledging the influence of black designers from the 1950s to now,” explains co-curator Ariele Elia. “Black designers come from such varied cultural experiences, and create in so many different ways, that it is not useful to try to define a single ‘black style’,” continues her collaborator Elizabeth Way. “The otherness of the black experience can be cited as a commonality across cultures. However, designers interpret this in a multitude of ways.” With this in mind, we asked three designers (who feature in the FIT show) what it means to them to be a “black designer” today.

‘Black Fashion Designers’, Museum at FIT, December 6-May 16