Monochrome Fashion: How Black Historical Nuance Informs the Hottest Runway Trend

By Christian Hopley

One of the hottest trends that designers across the fashion capitals have been sending down the runways is monochrome attire. Black people throughout the diaspora have chosen a monochromatic style of dress for centuries. The Philadelphia Inquirer exclaims that intentional monochrome dressing can be seen across all sectors of the Black population “From Priests to Pimps”.

The practice of donning white clothing has deep canonical history across the spirituality of the African diaspora. The tradition was brought to the western world byway of religions such as Cuban Santeria, Brazilian Umbanda, Candomble, and Lucumi as well as the Voodoo-Catholic religion practiced in the French controlled regions of Haiti and New Orleans. Practitioners believed pristine white clothing to be a symbol of purity and rejoicing. Strictly dressing in all white is a requirement for people in Cuba going through a Santeria initiation. In this religion they cannot be touched by anyone except for their family and lovers as they are now pure and by donning white fabric they are letting the public know they have dedicated themselves towards the sacred way of the orishas. It was the required dress code for Voodoo ceremonies especially when they were summoning spirits as they had to sanctify the land they stood on to make it a sacred space for summoning spirits or celebrating life. Once you enter a sacred space, you must be pure internally which is what the white clothing symbolized. We have even observed the wearing of all white in the Black Christian Church where it is a popular tradition to wear all white for Communion, which is the first Sunday of the month. 

Early in the 20th century, the wearing of all white was used as a symbol of political resistance during the women's suffrage in America. White fabric was the uniform of choice because it was inexpensive which made it accessible to women from different social standings and suffragettes also acknowledged the colors historical symbolic meaning as a sign of purity and dignity. Even in modern times, hosting and attending all white parties is an annual tradition for many black people across the diaspora. All white marks celebration, liberation, purity, and protest. 

Beyond religion, we can turn our focus towards gang culture as another example of Black people’s relationship with monochromatic fashion. Arguably, Black American gangs are the most clear example of how color and what you wear can either grant or deny you access to community. The Crip gang is noticeably associated with the color blue marked usually by their blue bandanas. One of the Crip founders famously and frequently wore blue levis, a blue shirt, blue suspenders, and a dark blue bandana. Their rival gang, Bloods, is expectably associated with the color red, again noted by their red bandanas. They chose the color red of course for its link to the color of blood and more importantly to create a profound opposition to Crips. They used their chosen monochromatic style as a way to unify and fortify a sense of brotherhood and community as well as defend themselves against their opposition. At the height of their active rivalry, wearing the wrong (bandana) color in the wrong part of town would have meant imminent danger. They used color indicators to decide who was deserving of protection and their loyalty. 

As we analyze the livelihood of Black Americans in the early-mid 20th century we can see how Black people even resorted to monochromatic dressing for more economic reasons. Starting in 1930s Harlem, The zoot suit became a de facto uniform for jazz musicians. The Jazz era for most people especially in Harlem was a theatrically artistic and social renaissance that was heavily laced with pain, poverty and passion. The zoot suit was the embodiment of the theme of the era. It was theatrical because of its use during performance, the loose silhouette which was usually made in a singular bright colored fabric. The suit was also provocative as it symbolized a distancing from social codes of following white middle class styles of the time. Moreover, zoot suits were in order for Jazz Harlem because they were accessible. Wearing mostly hand-me-downs, or poorly sized and cheaply made garments, Black men of the jazz era were forced to creatively craft garments that worked for them. Most Black men had to alter their own clothes at home as they did not have the access to tailors which is why the suits took on an exaggerated oversized silhouette with structured shoulders, usually made out of one vibrant color/pattern of fabric.

As the century continued and more men started wearing zoot suits, America entered World War 2. The World War brought on inevitable fabric rations which caused the zoot suit ,with its excessive fabric, to be deemed unpatriotic. Due to fabric rations, people across the country found monochromatic dressing to be much more economically stable. It was much more cost effective to purchase one fabric and make an entire outfit from it rather than multiple fabrics for each article of clothing. Additionally, monochromatic dressing ensured that people were able to decrease their “cost-per-wear” of each item because it was sure that each article of clothing could be worn multiple times as it directly coordinated with another piece of clothing already in your wardrobe. 

Monochrome fashion is a large part of Black diasporic history. Black culture's profound contribution to modern fashion cannot be ignored. The donning of all white for spiritual rituals across the diaspora is what gave meaning to the color white as a purity symbol and an indicator of celebration or political resistance. Black fashion and the popularity of the zoot suit along with other monochromatic clothing choices can also be used as an economic indicator for the state of the country at the time. Even by looking at gang members we can see how black people established community and rivalry through the use of monochrome colors. Fashion is more than just a trend, its historical nuance informs us how and why we dress the way we do.