Styling the Quad: Fashioning the Legacy of HBCU Culture

From the music videos and performances for Destiny’s Child’s 2004 “Lose My Breath” to her 2008 “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On it),” much of the choreography Knowles-Carter has employed since 2008 contains a mixture of various HBCU majorette dance styles. Beyoncé even dresses mostly in highly decorative leotards and bodysuits for almost every performance since the I Am…Sasha Fierce era, reflecting HBCU majorette and band culture, and the broader HBCU style gamut. Essentially, her Coachella performance, now documented through Netflix, gave HBCU style (and the general community) an incredible and permanent platform for audiences to feel encouraged to understand this style’s impact on the broader fashion system as well as its unique role as a vehicle for Black ingenuity, creativity, and empowerment. 

Most recent examples of HBCU style documented in media are synonymous with the critically acclaimed work of Spike Lee and television shows such as A Different World. These early examples directly took what was happening on HBCU campuses, making them mainstream sensations that allowed those who went to HBCUs to feel seen, while inadvertently influencing younger generations to apply to these universities. Analyzing and defining the specific components of HBCU style is incredibly nuanced because the assessment depends on the decade and an understanding of what influenced Black youth culture at a given time. Looking at the photography series W.E.B. Du Bois incorporated in his Exhibit of American Negros for the 1900 Exposition in Paris, there were several photographs of mainly women students sitting on the steps of a campus building of what would eventually be renamed the HBCU Clark Atlanta University, dressed in the high style of the turn of the century, wearing their elegant shirtwaist and skirt ensembles and decorative feathered hats. Du Bois intended to visually highlight Black Americans’ progress in education, business, and general aspects of society, while simultaneously attempting to dispel racial tropes around the Black Community. The way these subjects and Du Bois dressed was influenced by fashion based on Eurocentrism and in line with respectability politics. Fashioning oneself in clothing that correlated to the broader oppressive White community was how some sought to encourage them to see Black bodies as equal, “normal,” productive citizens according to White standards. This notion is very consistent in the Black experience throughout the decades. Even during the rise of “prep” style on predominantly White college campuses during the 1920s and thereafter, those elements trickled into HBCU campuses. To note, “prep” style emulated, integrated, and subverted traditional British tailored fashions like tweed jackets or contemporary golf-inspired ensembles at the time. In a Morehouse assembly photograph of then young Martin Luther King, Jr., he and his peers are clearly dressed in the very tailored equivalents of what was worn on majority White colleges.

Another important note that would be remiss if not mentioned is the power of the rising Hip-hop and new wave of R&B artists at the time influencing HBCU campuses. My mother, Sheila Bayne, said, “once Salt-N-Pepa had the asymmetrical hairstyle, everyone had it on campus.” Music, film, and fashion had this symbiotic relationship that was amplified significantly on HBCU campuses. Many of these entertainers were regular performers at HBCU homecomings across the nation; thus, they directly influenced style on HBCU campuses. Additionally, athleisure was a prime style foundation. Clothing like tracksuits, colorful sneakers, sports jerseys, and hoodies were a part of Hip-hop style; therefore, that influence was also prevalent on HBCU campuses at the time. As previously mentioned, early “prep” styles on white campuses subverted British sportswear and athletic wear into campus fashion, which, to a degree, matriculated on HBCU campuses. But as the rise of Black athletes in the N.B.A. and N.F.L. dominated news cycles and popular culture, their personal taste immediately resonated with the youth. 

Today, style on campuses still evoke that eclectic melting pot as it once had several decades before, but the difference is access to money. From the time my parents went to school to today, Black people have a slightly higher economic foundation. Instead of buying a knock-off to try to assimilate with peers, today, more can afford authentic luxury pieces. Also, to a degree, there seems to be a more conservative approach to fashion on HBCU campuses in recent years, bringing it full circle to earlier respectability political implications that persisted in the first half of the twentieth-century and prior. In the article “Why students in Historically Black Colleges and Universities have Amazing Style,” Jalisa J. Jones wrote, “While HBCU dress codes are very similar to dress codes at other schools, HBCU administrators and students alike maintain a stricter expectation of dress. These raised expectations exist in part because respectability politics dictate a different, higher set of standards for black colleges and their students.” Black experiences across all professional fields remain confronted with racism and microaggressions, constantly battling against historical stereotypes. For many HBCUs, they believe encouraging students to wear more conservative styles, like suiting, cardigans, or stilettos, on a quotidian basis will translate into their adult lives, ideally creating a protective layer from the chastising White gaze. As seen on many campuses, students emit their individuality, and many still adhere to more relaxed athleisure and sportswear. However, there is unequivocally a collective influence from HBCU administrations to ensure their students are fashionably prepared for what lies ahead of them.

Over recent decades, HBCU culture and style matriculated into the inspiration boards of fashion companies and entertainment across the system in various ways, ranging from celebratory to disrespectful. Furthermore, there are a handful of entities that speak to the impact of HBCU culture. By way of Beyoncé, Olivier Rousteing, creative director for the historical French label Balmain, designed a Coachella-inspired line that continued to extenuate the same admiration for HBCU culture as was executed in the costumes he designed for Knowles-Carter to wear during the aforementioned performances. That was a one-off venture Balmain pursued, but there are also designers and companies who consistently use their platforms to preserve HBCU style. Torch Sportswear and Legacy.History.Pride are two companies among many that are uplifting and reinventing those traditions. These companies provide a range of activewear and athleisure, vintage and originally designed, to touch the increasingly mobile lives of the students they serve and those who admire HBCU culture.