Stephen Burrows: When Fashion Danced

Stephen Burrows: When Fashion Danced is the first major examination of the work of the designer The New York Times called in 1977 the “brightest star of American fashion.” It looks at the period spanning the 1970s when Stephen Burrows’s meteoric rise to fame made him not only the first African-American designer to gain international stature, but a celebrated fashion innovator whose work helped define the look of a generation. With vibrant colors, metallic fabrics, and slinky silhouettes that clung to the body, Burrows’s danceable designs generated a vibrant look that was of a piece with the glamorous, liberated nightlife of the era. Through photographs, drawings, and original garments, the exhibition will trace Burrows’s evolution from creating eclectic looks for his friends in the 1960s to his work with the chic 57th Street retailer Henri Bendel to the floor of Studio 54, as he dressed such 70s style icons as Cher, Liza Minnelli, and Diana Ross.

The exhibition is made possible by the generous support of Target.

Additional support is provided by:

The Coby Foundation

Tiffany & Co.

Laura Lofaro Freeman

Claire and Charles Shaeffer

Nando Peretti Foundation

Jamie Drake

Eric Javits Jr.

Phyllis Kossoff

Barbara and Donald Tober Foundation

The exhibition’s companion book is made possible in part by a grant from Furthermore: a program of the J.M. Kaplan Fund.

BET is the media sponsor of the exhibition.

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Stephen Burrows: When Fashion Danced

$45.00 ($40.50 for members)

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