FAMSF Curator Reveals Life and Legacy of Groundbreaking Vogue Designer Patrick Kelly – San Francisco Bay Instances

The celebrated fashion designer Patrick Kelly (1954–1990) was only 35 years old when he succumbed to AIDS, and yet his work today often appears as lively and boundless as it was when he was alive more than two decades ago. His enduring message of love – one that boldly reaffirmed the empowerment of blacks and fearlessly pushed the boundaries of fashion – is evident in the Patrick Kelly: Runway of Love exhibition, which runs from October 23, 2021 to 24 de Jung.

Lauren L. Camerlengo

“I want my clothes to make you smile,” said Kelly, who was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi and despite the many challenges he faced as a black gay adolescent, most of all from his mother and father, after that of his father Grandmother was raised, an optimistic, creative vision developed. In 1969, Kelly died. Kelly briefly attended Jackson State University in Mississippi before moving to Atlanta and then New York. With an anonymous ticket in hand, he arrived in Paris at the age of 25.

He worked as a freelance designer in the City of Lights for several years before founding the company and the fashion line Patrick Kelly Paris in 1985 with his business and life partner Bjorn Guil Amelan. Together they conquer the world with clothing that not only became internationally known, but was also representative of his personal expression, which fearlessly dealt with blackness, systemic racism and the queer experience.

Members of our San Francisco Bay Times team have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of Runway of Love, announced during the shutdown of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that the museum is open and waiver is mandatory, the exhibition will bring Kelly’s captivating work to the West Coast public. It will highlight nearly 80 of its memorable designs.

“The de Young Museum has always been dedicated to showcasing the best fashion designers in the world, and we are delighted to present Patrick Kelly: Runway of Love to our audience,” said Thomas P. Campbell, Director and CEO of Fine Arts Museums from San Francisco. “Kelly was a pioneering artist who created an extraordinary variety of designs in her lifetime. Everyone should know the name Patrick Kelly and we hope this exhibition does just that. “

Despite the fact that black fashion designers have continually crossed the barriers of the industry, Kelly was a true pioneer. His bold and luminous creations stood out on the streets, in nightclubs, and especially on the catwalk. This extraordinary vision led Kelly to be the first American and first black designer to be elected to the Chambre Syndicale du Prêt-à-Porter des Couturiers et des Créateurs de Mode, a renowned French association for clothing designers. Perhaps more notably, Kelly received such awards while being and remaining one of the few designers who directly addressed racial issues in his work.

The exhibition places Kelly and his designs in the broader context of art and fashion history by looking closely at his inspirations. Its influences are examined in seven different sections, including his black legacy, memories of his childhood in the south, experiences in the club and gay cultural scene in New York and Paris, and his muses from art, fashion and black history.

We recently learned more about Kelly and Runway of Love thanks to Laura L. Camerlengo, Associate Curator of Costume and Textile Arts at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and Presenting Curator of the exhibition.

San Francisco Bay Times: It’s remarkable how Patrick Kelly was self-taught and had a vision of what he wanted to do so early on. Who were his main mentors during his childhood and formative years, and how did they influence him?

Laura L. Camerlengo: Patrick Kelly was born and raised in Vicksburg, Mississippi, by strong women. His mother taught him to draw and an aunt taught him to sew. In several interviews he recognized his grandmother as the “backbone” of his aesthetic. Another source of inspiration were the styles worn by members of his parish; he often said, “The Black Baptist Church on Sundays, the ladies are just as wild as the ladies at Yves Saint Laurent’s haute couture shows.”

San Francisco Bay Times: Vintage clothing stores were particularly popular in the 1970s. Kelly showed great initiative when he opened his own store in Atlanta. Do you know how long he owned the shop and which vintage fashions appealed to him the most at the time?

Laura L. Camerlengo: The curator of the exhibition, Dilys Blum, sheds light on Patrick Kelly’s time in Atlanta in her catalog essay. Kelly opened a small store called Moth Ball Matinee in 1974 shortly after moving to Atlanta. There he sold antique and used clothing as well as converted clothing and his own designs.

San Francisco Bay Times: Has he ever spoken or written about any problems he likely had while growing up as a gay, black teenager and young man in Mississippi? If so, are there specific stories you could share?

Laura L. Camerlengo: Yes, Patrick Kelly has experienced racism all his life and shared his experiences with racism. His former business and life partner Bjorn Amelan continued to tell these stories after Kelly’s death. Patrick Kelly’s children’s books, for example, were lore from white schools filled with racist notes for future readers. Kelly had to flip through pictures of Blackface to study – a painful memory that has stayed with him all his life.

San Francisco Bay Times: Has anyone ever found out who gave him (anonymously) his first one-way ticket to Paris in 1979?

Laura L. Camerlengo: Yes, it was the supermodel and superstar Pat Cleveland who bought him his one-way ticket to Paris in 1979. She met with Patrick Kelly in New York and saw that he was struggling to get there as a designer. In an interview that we shared in the exhibition catalog, she recalls: “People helped me, I thought – that’s why I gave him the ticket – so why not help each other to make our dreams come true? We only need one person to believe in us, and Patrick kept that dream alive for many more years. “

San Francisco Bay Times: Bjorn Amelan is a remarkable figure himself. How did he and Kelly meet?

Laura L. Camerlengo: Bjorn Amelan and Patrick Kelly met in 1982. At that time, Amelan was a photographer agent for luminaries such as Horst P. Horst and William Klein. They met in designer Willi Smith’s showroom in New York City. Kelly and Amelan got together again in Paris in 1983 and became business and life partners afterwards.

San Francisco Bay Times: How did Kelly first come into contact with Gloria Steinem? She seemed to play an important role in building his international career.

Laura L. Camerlengo: As Dilys Blum indicates in our catalog, Patrick Kelly was introduced to Gloria Steinem by New York television producer Carla Morgenstern. Kelly had a connection to Morgenstern through Ellie Wolfe, whom he met while residing in Atlanta from 1974 to 1978. Steinem also interviewed Patrick Kelly on the Today show.

Even more poignant, Gloria Steinem gave a beautiful eulogy in honor of Patrick Kelly during his funeral service at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York in 1990. She said, “He was an outsider who brought the outside with him and then the outside eliminated outside / inside division for everyone. He united us with buttons and bows, tassels and fringes instead of dividing us with gold and jewels. In his presence the ‘not powerful enough’ felt hope and the ‘too powerful’ humanity. “

San Francisco Bay Times: What are some of your own favorite pieces in Patrick Kelly: Runway of Love? Please do let us know why you are getting these pieces or why they appear noteworthy in some other way.

Laura L. Camerlengo: It’s hard to pick a favorite design – a bit like asking me to pick a favorite kid! But my dear, late friend and colleague Monica Brown – who initiated this exhibition – was a huge fan of Patrick Kelly’s wool suits, which feel both professional and whimsical. In her honor I will name these as my “favorites”.

San Francisco Bay Times: How many pieces / ensembles are new to the exhibition that are from FAMSF? Have these items been exhibited before? And please describe some of these items of clothing.

Laura L. Camerlengo: The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco was honored to receive several designs by Patrick Kelly from two former Kelly colleagues: Elizabeth “Ms. Liz “Goodrum, Kelly’s longtime assistant; and Audrey Smaltz, a famous catwalk show producer who also coordinated Kelly’s spirited catwalk shows. Among the items of clothing that can be seen in our exhibition are a gray and black striped jailhouse skirt-themed knit dress donated by Goodrum and a chewing gum-pink quilted coat with small pictures of the American-born black entertainer and activist Josephine Baker is printed on. donated by Smaltz. Several pieces of jewelry donated by Goodrum will also highlight many of the ensembles that the Philadelphia Museum of Art has made available to us.

San Francisco Bay Times; What do you think is Kelly’s enduring legacy for the fashion and art world? Like Keith Haring, he seemed to be as much time man as he was, but also unique and timeless.

Laura L. Camerlengo: Patrick Kelly’s style signatures – like his use of tubular knit to create body-conscious styles – have become part of the fashion lexicon. Since his death, the designer himself has served as a symbol of hope and a rallying call for other black fashion professionals, as most recently with The Kelly Initiative. (https://thekellyinitiative.net/)

San Francisco Bay Times: It’s moving that the controversial Golliwog image he used in his work – taking control of this derogatory symbol – is on his tombstone along with an image of a heart. Was that his decision? Or maybe Amelans?

Laura L. Camerlengo: Yes, Bjorn Amelan was inspired by the signatures of Patrick Kelly Paris for the tombstone images, including the house’s Golliwog logo and the heart button. But it is the epitaph that perhaps best embodies the designer and his legacy: “Nothing Is Impossible”.

San Francisco Bay Times: Please mention anything else you would like to tell our readers.

Laura L. Camerlengo: The presentation of Patrick Kelly: Runway of Love in our museums marks the first time Patrick Kelly’s work has been presented by a West Coast museum. We were supported in this endeavor by many of Patrick Kelly’s friends, colleagues, and co-workers; aspiring scientists, such as our consulting scientist, Dr. Sequoia Barnes, and Established Academics; and various members of the Bay Area community. We are excited to share Patrick Kelly’s important contributions to fashion and his enduring legacy with our audience.

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Published on October 21, 2021