The Costume Institute of the African Diaspora (CIAD)

03/07/2024

4 days until CIAD’s Third Biennial Dress Conference, Sa Lapo Ki Nou Ladan (The Skin We’re In)!

If you haven’t bought your tickets yet, they can be purchased via our website (link in the bio) until the 6th of July, the conference day.

We can’t wait to spend the whole day sharing and discussing important topics around the African diaspora.

02/05/2024

CIAD'S Third Biennial Conference Tickets Sale -

We are thrilled to announce that on Saturday 6th of July, 2024, we will be hosting our 3rd Biennial Dress Conference. From 9 am to 5 pm at UAL Central Saint Martins, LVMH Lecture Theatre - 1 Granary Square (N1C 4AA), we will receive scholars and researchers from all over the world, providing in-dep...

26/04/2024

We are glad to announce Rachael Lee as one of CIAD’s Third Biennial Dress Conference (Sa Lapo Ki Nou Ladan) guest speakers.

Rachael Lee is a Senior Costume Mounting Specialist at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Her work is wide-ranging and includes the development of new mannequins and bespoke mount-making for fashion exhibitions. Rachael has worked with several museums in the UK, including the British Museum and the Pitt Rivers Museum designing and making mounts for ethnographic costume. Her recent projects include Gabreille Chanel Fashion Manifesto (V&A) and Ashish: Fall in Love and Be More Tender (William Morris Gallery)

Rachael Lee will be contributing to the presentation: Museums, Mannequins and Melanin: Africa Fashion at the V&A

28/02/2024

The relationship between race and AI has been widely debated within the technological scenario but is especially challenged by the Black artistic community. Is no news that Whiteness is mostly perceived as the default standard for everything in society, and is no different with AI. Since most of the database and AI generators were created and based on white people and white features, the artificial intelligence due to a lack of exposure to different types of people - people of colour, struggles to generate anything outside of white features.

Minne Atairu is a Ph.D. D Columbia University candidate who developed a brilliant work about AI and racial bias. In an attempt to challenge Midjourney’s limitation to generate Black women with natural blond hair, Atairu developed the “Blond Braids Study” in which the artist asked the artificial intelligence generator to create two identical Black twins with blond hair.

The result is that the AI-generated one dark-skinned woman with dark hair, and the blond twin was generated with light skin.

This is strong evidence that the people behind the programs and database of AI generators need to engage in racial discussions, as a technology that is becoming part of people’s daily lives, can not be a tool of perpetuated racism and racial bias.

19/02/2024

Are you interested in learning a heritage Bahamian craft that can provide you with a steady income, increase the country’s Orange Economy offerings, and propel you into the exciting world of creative entrepreneurship?

THEN REGISTER NOW at https://creativenassau.com/registration for Creative Nassau’s: BEGINNERS STRAW PLAITING CLASS starting March 13.

Space is limited and the registration deadline is March 1. You don’t miss this opportunity so be sure to secure your spot now!

14/02/2024

This year is CIAD’s third Biennial Dress Conference, and we are focussing on the representation of skin within dress, fashion, and culture.

We are looking for any academics or researchers whose work focuses on scarification ritual, practice, or appearance.

If this is you or anyone you know then please get in touch at [email protected]

09/02/2024

148 days until Sa Lapo Ki Nou Ladan (“The Skin We’re In”) our third biennial dress conference.

Tickets will be released soon, stay tuned ✨

02/02/2024

The religious celebrations of Iemanjá, the Brazilian orixá from Umbanda and Candomblé African descendant religions, take place on the 2nd of February all over Brazil’s coast but especially in Salvador. The biggest African religion based celebration of the country honours the mother and queen of the waters. Dressed in white and light blue garments, people from all types of religion celebrate this day offering flowers, food, seashells, pearl necklaces and goods to Iemanjá. The name Iemanjá comes from the Yorubá “Yéyé Omó Ejá” which means “mother of fishes”. She is considered the most beautiful of the orixás also being perceived as the mother of all.

Many people see the image of Iemanjá as a form of motherly protection, courage, beauty and blessings. The “festa de Iemanjá” (Iemanjá party) became Salvador’s historical patrimony as it is one of the biggest cultural and religious manifestations of the state of Bahia (capital Salvador).

The baianas (women in white), wear their traditional pano de costas and wide big skirts made of Richelieu lace. The colour white and light blue represents the sea, which is directly linked to the image of Iemanjá.

On this special day, the word “odoyá” is commonly used as a means to say “bless Iemanjá”.

26/01/2024

Sa Lapo Ki Nou Ladan (The Skin We’re In): Call for papers end on Monday the 29th of January.

If you are interested in having your work and research presented in CIAD’s Third Biennial Conference, this is the last call to submit a 300- word abstract.

Send abstract to: [email protected]

24/01/2024

The process of lightening skin through chemicals and cosmetics is a common practice around the world, specifically in Southeast Asia. The desire to lighten the skin is directly related to the perpetuated notion of beauty, that is centred on whiteness. The process of skin bleaching maintains itself as a means to achieve “fairness”. The word “fairness” is constantly used as an association with whiteness and beauty, dominating the product landscape, most notably with Fair and Lovely, which is the market brand leader and household name in India.

There are cultural and sociological associations with skin bleaching and distinguishing factors between castes, with higher castes (Brahmin) associated with purity, elite status, and light complexion, whereas the lowest and fifth caste (Dalit/“untouchable”) is associated with a darker complexion and social persecution. Even though caste-based discrimination was outlawed by an independent India in 1950, the practice continues in many cases.

Even though the majority of the population in Southeast Asia is not white, the bleaching business is a billionaire industry. With the constant use of bleaching cream along with the media’s/Bollywood propagation of a “fair India”, more than 10% of India’s women population suffers from a skin condition and health issues due to the use of hash bleaching products.

The practice of skin bleaching in India goes before colonialism, however, is undeniable that the notion of racial superiority (wealth, beauty and power) was associated with White Brits, leading skin colour to become the main stratification amongst southeastern Asian societies. In some countries such as India and Pakistan, part of a bride’s wedding gift is the “pre-wedding skin bleaching treatments”, that aim to lighten the bride’s skin before the big day, making her “more attractive” and suitable for marriage.

Skin bleaching in every part of the globe happens for the same reason, a collective desire to become closer to whiteness and everything that embodies it.

📸: Fair and Lovely brand advertisement

20/01/2024

Skin bleaching throughout the 20th century, directly intersected race, class and colourism. Based on the perpetrated idea that White is prettier, better and wealthier, many cosmetic companies started to develop creams that aimed to chemically change one’s skin into a lighter shade.

From around Elizabethan times through to the early 20th century in many European and North American societies, light skin was a mark of class distinction. Untanned skin was a symbol of the privileged classes who didn’t perform any outdoor work.

Darker skinned people were looked down on because they were of the labouring class that worked out in the sun.

However, in the 1920s and 1930s many white consumers swapped skin lighteners for tanning lotions, as time spent sunbathing and playing outdoors became a sign of a healthy and leisured lifestyle. White privilege started to entail being white “almost” all the time, and when convenient/on holidays, one would get fake tan, a symbol of wealth/leisure.

Seasonal tanning embodied new forms of white privilege that weren’t common before. However it all leads to the same path, those who are not white through skin bleaching try to reach “closer” proximity to whiteness and white beauty standards. While white get to be tanned whenever is convenient, because after all, being white and tan means beautiful and wealth.

15/01/2024

Scarification is one of the most ancient forms of body modification. The process of making small cuts and/or inserting objects underneath the skin to create meaningful patterns has been a cultural practice, especially amongst sub-Saharan African communities.

Scarification and tattoo practices amongst indigenous communities are a cultural imprint and autograph of an individual. Anthropological studies show that in that the transition and transformation of skin are a cultural manifestation not only of the people to which an individual belongs but also of their individuality within the community. Scarification was extremely popular amongst African and Oceanian Indigenous populations, which combined with tattoos would better appear on darker skin shades. Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Congo cultures, where the leading countries in skin scarification, also portrayed in traditional carved wooden masks.

In the past scarification was used as a form of passage rite between childhood/adolescence into adulthood. In women, the process of body modification is believed to be a preparation for the pain of childbirth. The most popular type of scarification in women aims for patterns made of keloid, that represent femininity and attractiveness. In men, is indicative of strength and health.