On Wednesday night, Eric Darnell Pritchard spoke at Schine Student Center as part of the Office of Multicultural Affairs’ annual Black History Month Commemorative Lecture. Pritchard’s talk, entitled “Black Supernovas: The Legacies of Black Gay Fashion Designers,” discussed the lives and successes of gay, black fashion designers during the 1970s and 1980s.

“Since I was a child, I’ve known that black people were the harbingers of style,” Pritchard said during his lecture. “Tall, short, thin, fat, rich, poor, non-binary, queer, heterosexual, young, old, it makes no difference. Black people always look good.”

Throughout the lecture, he discussed the works and contributions of designers such as Willi Smith and Fabrice Simon. But the majority of the presentation focused on the life of Patrick Kelly, as well as the triumphs and controversies he experienced in the world of fashion up to his death from AIDS in 1990.

An associate professor of English at the University at Buffalo, Pritchard is also an award-winning writer and cultural critic. His book, “Fashioning Lives: Black Queers and The Politics of Literacy,” won a host of awards, including the inaugural 2017 Outstanding Book Award from the Conference on Community Writing.

The book focuses on the life stories of black lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people, along with their quests to challenge systems of oppression and create a life in the midst of harsh realities.

Born in Queens, New York, Pritchard’s family moved through many different neighborhoods in the area. In his early elementary school years, Pritchard said he experienced difficulties in reading and writing.

After realizing the school system wasn’t helping her son with those subjects, Pritchard’s mother decided to hold her son back for one year to help improve his skills. Pritchard said his mother not only helped him improve his reading and writing abilities, but also his understanding of black culture.

Pritchard cited his mother’s teachings as a vital component to his interest in reading and writing. The characters and protagonists of color his mother introduced, helped Pritchard learn more about living in the world as a black man. He also learned the importance of fashion through his mother’s influence, stating that she, along with other relatives, would always make an effort to dress well despite the family’s financial difficulties.

“I saw my mother, aunts, uncles and older cousins dress so chicly, even with the relatively little to no financial means they had, to dress well compared to other people,” Pritchard said during the lecture. “They truly were amongst the most stylish people I ever knew.”

Pritchard considers the residential neighborhood of South Jamaica to be his “primary home.” Some of his fondest memories include attending the public library and going to the shopping malls.

Though he would sometimes skip school to avoid bullying, Pritchard said his schoolwork was never affected. He became “bored and battered” with his school’s lesson plan, as the materials presented did not pertain to his interests. As a young man, Pritchard was more intrigued with the history of the gay community, something only the library could provide.

At the end of his presentation, Pritchard emphasized the significance of the fashion designers he discussed earlier.

“Indeed, the implications for the deeper engagement with the history of black people in fashion today are also vast,” Pritchard said to close his lecture. “These ancestors—brilliant, beautiful, black, queer geniuses who loved, dreamed, dared, worked, employed, laughed, danced—were inspired and inspiring.”

Published on February 14, 2019 at 12:26 pm