Judith A. Byfield, originally from Jamaica, is a Professor in the Department of History at Cornell University. A member of the graduate field in Africana Studies and Feminist, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Byfield focuses primarily on African and Caribbean history. In addition to the seminar on Dress, Cloth and Identity in Africa and the Diaspora, she offers courses on Marriage and Divorce in the African Context, Africa and World War II and survey courses on the Making of Contemporary Africa and the Modern Caribbean. Her interests in fashion and dress were nurtured by the dressmakers and tailors in her family and deepened with the research for her first book, The Bluest Hands: A Social and Economic History of Women Indigo Dyers in Western Nigeria, 1890-1940 (Heinemann, 2002).

Dyese Matthews is a PhD student in Fiber Science and Apparel Design. Her contribution to this exhibition explores the relationship between kente cloth and Afrocentric identity within the African American community.

Daniel “Danny” Sickle is a Junior in Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration in the SC Johnson College of Business. He is pursuing a major in Hotel Administration, minors in Real Estate and Fashion Studies, and a concentration in Finance. This summer he will be interning with Harrison Street Real Estate Capital, a private equity group in Chicago.

Bunmi Osias is a senior majoring in Global and Public Health Sciences at Cornell University. Her contributions to the exhibit explore Yoruba dress tradition and migration.

Fath’Ma Marcelah Shabani is an undergraduate majoring in Landscape Architecture.

Originally from South Africa, Joseph Mullen is a first-year student. He plans to major in Africana Studies.

Laurence Minter is a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, from Chicago, IL. He is completing an honor’s thesis in Sociology.

Richard Green is a senior in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations.

Estefania Perez is a senior the College of Arts and Science. She majored in government with minors in history and Latino Studies.

Esuvat Bomani originally from Tanzania, is a senior in the School of Agriculture and Life Sciences majoring in information science.

Laure-Emmanuelle Dalle is an undergraduate in the College of Arts and Sciences, pursuing a degree in Africana Studies. In this exhibit, she explores the significance and use of Cameroonian made cloth in weddings.

Bintou Sow is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is on the pre-med track in Biological Sciences.

Kellian Kelly is a senior from Jamaica majoring in Biology and Society.

Harmela Anteneh is a sophomore in the School of Industrial and labor Relations.

Riley Martin is a sophomore studying Fiber Science in the College of Human Ecology. Her portion of the exhibit focuses on the production of indigo dyed cloth in Nigeria.

Abiola Onabule is a London-based fashion designer with a B.A. in fashion design from University of Westminster, and a master’s degree in womenswear from Central Saint Martins. Her work draws inspiration from her Nigerian cultural heritage and through the stories and lives of women. Celebrating form through silhouette, abstracting, and cutting techniques, her collections incorporate fabrics steeped in the crafts and practices of Nigerian textile culture. She is interested in the process of making as an ‘act of care’ and manifestations of personal, cultural and gendered stories within clothing.