Patrick Kelly photographs

id
11675
origination
Kelly, Patrick, 1954-1990
date statement
1980-1992
key date
1980
identifier (local_mss)
533076
org unit
Photographs and Prints Division. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
call number
Sc Photo Patrick Kelly Collection
b-number
b23295765
total components
54
total series
0
max depth
1
boost queries
(none)
component layout
Default Layout
Extended MARC Fields
false
Extended Navigation
false
created
2024-04-23 18:52:50 UTC
updated
2024-04-23 18:54:05 UTC
status note
(missing)
Display Aeon link
true

Description data TOP

unitid
{"value"=>"533076", "type"=>"local_mss"}
{"value"=>"Sc Photo Patrick Kelly Collection", "type"=>"local_call"}
{"value"=>"b23295765", "type"=>"local_b"}
unitdate
{"value"=>"1980-1992", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1980/1992"}
unittitle
{"value"=>"Patrick Kelly photographs"}
physdesc
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"13 boxes", "unit"=>"containers"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"5.25 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear_feet"}]}
repository
{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division</span>"}
abstract
{"value"=>"Patrick Kelly (1954-1990) was a Black American fashion designer who primarily worked in France. The Patrick Kelly photographs consist of slides, color photographs, negatives, contact sheets, promotional photographs, autographed photographs, and Polaroids, as well as a small amount of non-photographic accompanying material."}
langmaterial
{"value"=>"English"}
{"value"=>"English, French"}
origination
{"value"=>"Kelly, Patrick, 1954-1990", "type"=>"persname"}
bioghist
{"value"=>"<p>Taken from the biographical note for the Patrick Kelly archive, updated by Barrye Brown (March 2020):</p> <p>Born in Vicksburg, Mississippi in 1954, Patrick Kelly's interest in fashion design began in his childhood. He took courses in art history, fashion, and Black history at both Jackson State University and Parsons School of Design in New York. In 1979 he travelled to Paris for the first time, where he sold his handmade dresses on the streets.</p> <p>Early in his career in Paris, Kelly worked for major designers like Paco Rabanne and Hubert de Givenchy. In 1985 he showed his first collection, and also began his business partnership with Björn Amelan. His celebrity clients, such as Bette Davis, Madonna, and Princess Diana, brought his fashions into the spotlight. In 1987 Kelly closed a $5 million deal with the American apparel company Warnaco, Inc., which backed and distributed his women's ready-to-wear line.</p> <p>In 1988, Kelly was voted into the Chambre Syndicale du Prêt à Porter des Couturiers et des Créateurs de Mode, the prestigious French organization of fashion designers. He was the first American to be honored in this way. At the time Kelly was voted a member, there were only forty-four members, thirty-four of whom were French. He was therefore the first African American to exhibit fashion at the Louvre, as only members of this select group may do so.  He presented two major fashion collections a year, with a third that included his holiday line. He also organized other requisite showings in the United States and Europe, made personal appearances, judged contests, and visited retail shops.</p> <p>Besides selling his fashions at major Parisian stores, in the United States Kelly's apparel was carried by Saks Fifth Avenue and Marshall Fields, among others. His designs were sold in nineteen countries worldwide. Always seeking additional outlets and opportunities to expand his market, by 1988 Kelly was working with Vogue Patterns to enable women to make their own clothing based upon his styles. He designed for the Victoire Boutique in Paris and as well as for Italian clothing manufacturer Benetton. Many of Kelly's fashions showed his grandmother's influence of bows and buttons (enlarged for his designs); these trademarks became staples of French fashion by June 1989. Kelly had plans for a line of sunglasses and jewelry, and was preparing a cookbook with his mother's, grandmother's, and his own recipes. In addition, having amassed a collection of six thousand Black dolls, he planned to open a doll shop.</p> <p>Kelly's last runway show was Spring/Summer 1989, held in March of that year. By the time of the Autumn/Winter 1990 show held in the fall of 1989, he was too ill to participate fully, and succumbed to AIDS on January 1, 1990 at age 35. Kelly's mother, Letha R. Kelly, granted permission for Kelly's partner, Björn Amelan, to continue working with the business following Kelly's death.</p>"}
scopecontent
{"value"=>"<p>The majority of the collection consists of slides, mostly depicting Kelly's runway shows and designs, with a smaller amount of window displays, and some images of Kelly himself. Also included in the collection are color photographs, negatives, contact sheets, promotional photographs, and Polaroids on the same topics. Non-photographic materials are interleaved in some of the folders including postcards collected by Kelly (one addressed to him), copies of letters sent to Kelly with accompanying photographs, a letter from the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) to Amelan, and a child's sketch with accompanying letter sent to Kelly and Amelan. Many of the photographs contain images of models who worked with Kelly, including Iman, Grace Jones, Toukie Smith, and Naomi Campbell.</p> <p>The collection is arranged mostly by season. French language is used throughout.</p>"}
arrangement
{"value"=>"<p>Chronological.</p>"}
acqinfo
{"value"=>"<p>Gift of Björn Amelan, 1997.</p>"}
separatedmaterial
{"value"=>"<p>Includes material transferred from Patrick Kelly archive, Sc MG 631, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, The New York Public Library.</p>"}
processinfo
{"value"=>"<p>Processed by <span class=\"name\">Stacey Ference</span> in <span class=\"date\">2023</span> and <span class=\"date\">2024</span>.</p>"}
date_start
1980
keydate
1980
date_end
1992
date_inclusive_start
1980
date_inclusive_end
1992
extent_statement
5.25 linear feet (13 boxes)
prefercite
{"value"=>"Patrick Kelly photographs, Photographs and Prints Division. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library"}

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