Stories in fabric : the Design Works of Bedford Stuyvesant /
"In Stories in Fabric, design historian Phyllis Ross uncovers the rise of a groundbreaking African American textile studio founded in Brooklyn in 1969. The Design Works of Bedford Stuyvesant began as a collaboration between Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and textile designer Leslie Tillett. Through...
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
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New York :
Empire Stated Editions, an imprint of Fordham University Press,
2026.
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| Edition: | First edition. |
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| Summary: | "In Stories in Fabric, design historian Phyllis Ross uncovers the rise of a groundbreaking African American textile studio founded in Brooklyn in 1969. The Design Works of Bedford Stuyvesant began as a collaboration between Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and textile designer Leslie Tillett. Through Senator Robert F. Kennedy's urban renewal vision, they grew it into a nationally recognized brand that celebrated African sources and Black pride, bringing national attention to neighborhood ambition. Ross follows Design Works from hand-printed textiles to a broader licensing and printing operation that put African-inspired patterns into homes across the country. The company's visibility soared through high-profile showcases and museum partnerships, including a spectacular Metropolitan Museum event and later exhibitions that showed how its patterns connected to African art, flora, and fauna. These collaborations helped shift perceptions of Bed-Stuy from crisis to creativity and possibility. Drawing on deep archival research and interviews, Ross traces Design Works' evolution against the backdrop of the Civil Rights and Black Power movements, and the practical realities of community development and corporate partnerships. The result is a vivid portrait of collaboration across communities and institutions, and a reclamation of a significant episode in twentieth-century design and African American urban history"-- |
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| Physical Description: | xii, 243 pages : illustrations ; 26 cm |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: | 9781531513252 1531513255 |