Objects That Matter

Adire is a type of textile originating among the Yoruba indigenous people from the Southwestern states in Nigeria. In Yoruba, the word Adire translates as (adi) “to tie” and (re) “to dye.”

Ajrak (also written Ajrakh) is a cloth that hails from the desert regions of the Indian Subcontinent. Specifically produced in Pakistan’s Sindh province and Kutch in India, this textile has been used for thousands of years to create a wide assortment of textile goods.

The traditional dress of Vietnam, the Áo Dài, captures the essence of Vietnamese culture and pride, embodying their ideals of beauty, modesty and grace. The Áo Dài, meaning “long dress” or “long tunic,” has evolved throughout the decades, however the earliest known versions date back to the 18th century.

The bindi is a colored dot worn on the center of the forehead. Made from vermillion powder and sindoor, people of South Asian descent wear the bindi to signify their marriage status or as a cultural symbol.

The Burqini™/Burkini™ is a modest swimsuit designed by fashion designer Aheda Zanetti to promote Muslim women’s participation in public sports.

A ch’uspa (in Quechua) or huallqepo (in Aymara) is a bag used in the Andes to carry dried coca leaves since at least the beginning of the first millennium CE.

For millennia, the turban has been a cultural status symbol with various religious and ethnic affiliations. Ancient Egyptians wore turbans as a festive headpieces or symbols of royalty, and the Bible references the piousness associated with a linen turban. The turban even entered European fashion in the 1800s where women wore Regency turbans as a show of style.

Propaganda posters distributed by the 5th Bureau of Psychological Action during the French colonial era in Algeria sought the veil, a presumed symbol of “otherness”, to be the target in a campaign of cultural erasure in Algeria.

The Great Plains Indian/First Nation feathered headdress, commonly referred to as a “war bonnet,” is one of most recognizable items of indigeneity in North America due to its prevalence in mainstream media, fashion and sports. The common misconception is that all Native Americans wore war bonnets or that they were a fashionable accessory. In reality, the feathered bonnet headdress is a culturally and spiritually significant article of adornment for the tribes specifically from the Great Plains region.

The huipil is a blouse-like garment worn by women in Mesoamerica since at least 2,000 years ago. The name huipil derives from the Nahuatl word “huipilli,” used by the Aztecs to denote this garment.

The Kimono, which literally translates to “thing to wear” in English, is recognized worldwide as the national dress of Japan. It is a fashion that is often perceived as timeless and unchanging, reflecting an outsider’s judgment of Japanese values. However, this false notion denies the rich history of the Kimono which fosters identity, innovation and artistry.

The Kiondo is traditionally a round, striped, woven sisal and leather strapped basket, made and used by Agikuyu women from central Kenya, to carry out daily domestic tasks.

Moccasins have become synonymous with all Native American footwear, however this generalization fails to recognize the wide variety of shoe styles, materials and construction techniques used by different Indigenous peoples across North America.

Navajo blankets are carefully constructed textiles that embody a cultural appreciation for craftsmanship, innovation and individuality.

Vietnamese conical hats (Nón Lá) are often added as the “finishing touch” to several of the stereotypical Asian cultural costumes sold at halloween shops. Although globalization and cross-cultural dressing has brought the Vietnamese Nón Lá into daily dress practices around Asia, it is an article unique to Vietnamese traditional dress. The Nón Lá is a cultural object that embodies Vietnamese spirit and history, not an accessory to enhance racist perceptions of Asian costume.

A cloth with complex political semiotics, the Palestinian keffiyeh (sometimes written “kufiya” or “hattah”) is a square-shaped, white cotton scarf woven with a typically black houndstooth pattern. It is primarily worn by the people of Palestine and those who stand in solidarity with the Palestinians against the illegal occupation by Israel.

For the past one hundred years, the qipao has been one of the most recognized garments associated with Chinese culture. In Mandarin Chinese, “qipao” translates to the “gowns of the banner people.”

Şalvar are baggy trousers that formed part of the dress of the Turks who came to Anatolia in the eleventh century C.E. and continue to be worn today.

The sarape (or zarape) is an overgarment worn traditionally by men in rural areas throughout Mexico.

The traditional dress of South Asian women, the Sari consists of six to nine yards of fabric carefully draped around the body.

The terno is the national dress of the Philippines. It evolved from the Maria Clara or Traje de Mestiza dress, which originated from the Baro’t Saya. The terno is identified by its butterfly sleeves— flat, oversized high-peaked sleeves that...

The tignon is an 18th century headdress with origins in Louisiana, the Spanish Colonial Gulf, the Caribbean, and West Africa. It is a kerchief that both free and enslaved women of African descent were mandated to wear in the colonies of...