‘Black Influence in Fashion History’ on display at Orlando City Hall as part of Black artists celebration

J. Radcliff speaks about his exhibit pieces during an interview at City Hall. (Photo by Shayne Watson)

ORLANDO | While Black History Month may be over, the celebration continues in Orlando City Hall’s Terrace Gallery with an art exhibit celebrating the creativity, inspiration and cultural heritage of Black artists.

One of the 13 artists highlighted is J. Radcliff, an arts educator, fashion illustrator, entrepreneur and author. Radcliff says his piece “Black Influence in Fashion History” depicts historical Black figures who have made huge contributions to the fashion industry but have gone unnoticed. Some of the icons include Garret Morgan, Tyson Bedford, Dapper Dan and many more.

“I lead with education first,” Radcliff says. “My advocacy is always about fashion being accepted as a true art form. And what better way to do it than by highlighting various figures in fashion through fashion illustration.”

Radcliff says he realized there was a huge disconnect and lack of visibility for Black people, so he and his partner started working on this project through their education program. He says their goal was to highlight and “unearth” as many figures as they could.

“Black Influence in Fashion History” shows each historical figure intertwined with the next, representing how the icons and their contributions are woven into the fabric of the fashion industry as a whole.

Fashion illustrator J. Radcliff poses in front of his “Black Influence in Fashion History” art pieces with his upcoming book, “Black Influence: Rising Stars, History Makers, Risk Takers & Influential Icons in Fashion.” (Photo by Shayne Watson)

Luis Martinez, deputy manager of Multicultural Affairs and International Relations for the city of Orlando as well as the LGBTQ liaison to Mayor Buddy Dyer, was involved in the judging process to decide what 13 artists would be featured in the Terrace Gallery. While Martinez says choosing only 13 artists was no easy job, he looked for art pieces that best represented African American heritage, culture and history.

Martinez adds Dyer’s vision is to make sure every single resident and visitor feels welcomed, included, respected and has equitable access to opportunities.

“We have plenty of artists from different art disciplines and cultural backgrounds living in our beautiful city that are eager to expose their art because they have a message to spread to our community,” Martinez says.

Radcliff says it is important to highlight Black artists because of the current “culture war” in Florida. He says it’s important to make sure organizations are creating a space for people of marginalized groups to tell their own story.

“I think as an educator, it’s my job to push and forge forward. I have to be the example that I seek,” Radcliff says.

Radcliff says his five pieces that are on display took about a year to create and he wanted to make sure all areas of fashion were covered, including design, journalism, styling, photography, models and more.

Radcliff says the biggest thing he wants guests to take away from his piece is discovery. He wants guests to see these fashion icons and then do their own research and figure out why they are important and how they connect to each other.

(Photos by Jeremy Williams)

“If you really dig, you’ll find that there is a common thread, and what ties them all together is this incredible thing we call fashion,” Radcliff says.

The individuals featured in the “Black Influence in Fashion History” illustrations are part of a larger collection of fashion professionals featured in Radcliff’s book “Black Influence: Rising Stars, History Makers, Risk Takers & Influential Icons in Fashion.”

“There’s so many hidden figures in those six panels that we also highlight in that book, so it was really great to kind of shed light on those names during Black History Month, but also bring attention and interest to the art form of fashion through art,” Radcliff says.

Radcliff and his partner, Andrew Browne, offer programs throughout the country to help students from kindergarten through 12th grade get involved with fashion through their company, Form2Fashion. Form2Fashion also offers fashion and illustration seminars and free portfolio reviews for any student that is interested in pursuing a career in fashion or applying to any of the top 10 schools in the country.
“It is our mission to really cultivate and generate the next generation of fashion designers, fashion journalists, fashion entrepreneurs and art enthusiasts,” Radcliff says. “So, really, my goal is to continue to inspire the world.”

For the future, Radcliff is working on volume two of “Black Influence in Fashion History,” which he expects to be out later this year with even more influential Black icons in fashion.

In the meantime, “Black Influence in Fashion History” can be seen as a part of Orlando’s larger Black History Month Art Exhibit on display in the Terrence Gallery, located on the first floor of Orlando’s City Hall, through April 30.

More in Arts & Culture

See More