Nov 11, 2026
The Power of Garments: Living Black Style
Three designers featured in Sunday Best will appear at the AGO on November 18
Installation view, Sunday Best: The Power & The Glory of Black Style, October 7, 2026
From a tailcoat and top hat owned by Frederick Douglass in the late 19th century to the gown worn by Sarah Jessica Parker at the 2022 Met Gala, Sunday Best: The Power & Glory of Black Style uses fashion to illustrate the ubiquitous, multigenerational impact of Black style. Alongside photographs, visual art and other ephemera, the exhibition features 50 garments created by a range of acclaimed Black designers from North America, the Caribbean, Africa, and the U.K.
On Wednesday, November 18, three designers featured in the exhibition – Rachel Scott, Christopher John Rogers, and Kirk Pickersgill – will appear at the AGO for a panel discussion. Moderated by pioneering fashion editor and publisher Suzanne Boyd, the panel will reflect on their presence in the exhibition while exploring the innovation in style and design within each of their practices.
Before the panel, learn more about the impactful work of each designer and the garments they contributed to Sunday Best.
Installation view, Sunday Best: The Power & The Glory of Black Style, October 7, 2026
Jamaican-born designer Rachel Scott launched her fashion brand Diotima in 2021. She often collaborates with fellow Jamaican artisans on her designs, crafted in both Jamaica and New York. Scott has said of Diotima: “I seek to present a seductive and nuanced vision of Caribbean style while remaining grounded in history and my lived experience as a Jamaican.” She was the 2026 recipient of the CFDA Award for American Womenswear Designer of the Year.
Scott’s contribution to the exhibition is her own wedding dress from 2025. Her design references the Caribbean’s post-enslavement era with barkcloth knitting, a craft central to Jamaica’s history. This dress is on view in the Carol & Morton Rapp Gallery (gallery 505).
Installation view, Sunday Best: The Power & The Glory of Black Style, October 7, 2026
Kirk Pickersgill co-founded the Toronto-based, womenswear brand Greta Constantine in 2006 with his then design partner, Stephen Wong. Today, the Jamaican-born, Canadian-raised designer’s collections are available internationally in 15 countries. Pickersgill has outfitted a list of celebrities, including Angela Bassett, Viola Davis, Julia Roberts, and Taylor Swift, who are longtime supporters of the label. His team works together in their Toronto-area studio -- conceptualizing, exploring, and challenging the fashion of today for the women of tomorrow.
Three garments from Greta Constantine are featured in Sunday Best. On view in the Michael & Sonja Koerner Gallery (gallery 502), is a white cotton Tadroia Dress. In the Carol & Morton Rapp Gallery (gallery 505),is a monochromatic teal Liaxie Dress from the brand’s Spring 2025 collection, and a purple-and-fuchsia Pallene Gown from their Fall 2020 collection.
Installation view, Sunday Best: The Power & The Glory of Black Style, October 7, 2026
Christopher John Rogers is the designer behind his namesake New York label, founded in 2016. His work explores colour, proportion, material, and the craft of clothes-making, bringing disparate references from fine art, design, popular culture, and everyday life into unexpected conversation. His designs have been worn by Beyoncé, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Tracee Ellis Ross, Ayo Edebiri, Michelle Obama, and Kamala Harris.
Two of Rogers’ ballgowns are included in Sunday Best. In the first gallery of the exhibition, the Michael & Sonja Koerner Gallery (gallery 502), is a gown inspired by dressmaker and activist Elizabeth Keckley (1818 – 1907). This patch-worked, contoured bodice and skirt was worn by Sarah Jessica Parker to the 2022 Met Gala to honour Keckley for the gala’s theme “In America: An Anthology of Fashion”. In a smaller room just outside the exit of the exhibition’s final gallery is another gown designed by Rogers. From his 2020 Fall/Winter collection, this ruffled blouse and ball skirt were inspired by 1980s Parisian haute couture and crushed plastic carry-out bags encountered on the streets of Brooklyn.
Sunday Best: The Power & Glory of Black Style is on view now until February 28, 2027, on Level 5 of the AGO. The panel discussion featuring Rachel Scott, Christopher John Rogers, and Kirk Pickersgill is on Wednesday, November 18, in the AGO’s Baille Court. Tickets are available here.
Sunday Best is conceived and curated by Dr. Julie Crooks (Curator, Arts of Global Africa & the Diaspora, AGO) and Dr. Jason Cyrus (Associate Lecturer, London College of Fashion), with Amanda Bock (The Lynne and Harold Honickman Assistant Curator of Photographs, Philadelphia Museum of Art), and Clare Sauro (Cara Keegan Fry Curator at the Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection at Drexel University). The exhibition design is in consultation with U.K.-based JA Projects, an architecture and design firm.
Lead Sponsor
Generous Support
Gale M. Kelly
Charles Lesaux, Aaron & Becky Nugent, Ella Nugent
Liza Mauer & Andrew Sheiner
Jack Weinbaum Family Foundation
Contemporary programming at the AGO is supported by
