Black History Month in the UK is upon us again for the month of October. With plenty of events to get stuck into in the capital, we look back at one recent art exhibition visit for a Friday date night in late September.

‘The Missing Thread: Untold Stories of Black British Fashion’ is an exhibition at Somerset House in London until 7 January 2024. TimeOut describes the exhibit as: “Spanning from the 1970s to the present day and curated by Black Orientated Legacy Development Agency (BOLD), (it) will show what impact Black creativity has had on British fashion and how Black creativity and style has evolved across the decades. Look out for work from the likes of Joe Casely-Hayford OBE, Chris Ofili, Maud Sulter, Rotimi Fans-Kayode, Marc Hare and Jennie Baptiste.”

British influences

From the first room to the second, you’ll find British influences to Black British fashion from a young Dianne Abbotts to a red dress Princess Diana wore next to a portrait of the late treasure.

International influences

The third room in the exhibition showed an array of Black icons from Destiny’s Child to a British Olympic winner. Boomboxes piled on top of one another were signposted beside photographs of people in white hoods, KKK-style, appearing to be a play on past oppression. Another tiny room off to the side showed a short film celebrating Caribbean music and the dancehall scene, which was one of the highlights of the exhibit.

Nightlife influences

Posed in a nail salon, influences from the nightlife scene are posted in a pink-lit room. A glass case of old i-D magazines has a written sign explaining Edward Enninful’s contributions to the Black British fashion world from a young age, long before he took on the editing reins at British Vogue. The middle of the room had a long white table with matching high chairs, akin to a nail salon, with a case of nail polish on the wall. Adjacent to this, a TV with headphones showed an array of African American musical influences from Aaliyah to Beyoncé’s iconic ‘Crazy in Love’ music video.

Black British fashion now

The final rooms showed an array of fashion from Black British fashion designers, and of course, I found I matched the entrance decor with my eyeshadow, outfit and bag so had to grab some pictures too.