Travails of the Traveling Hats: From the Congo to The Met

Discover the journey of 47 caps and headdresses from Central Africa’s Congo River basin to The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute.

Discover the journey of forty-seven caps and headdresses from Central Africa’s Congo River basin to The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute.

Narrator and Writer: Wendy A. Grossman
Producer: Melissa Bell
Editor and Camera: Aurola Wedman Alfaro
Production Coordinator: Lela Jenkins


Contributors

Wendy A. Grossman
Independent scholar and Andrew W. Mellon Senior Fellow, Director's Office (2020–21)

Two men stand together in a black-and-white photo. The man in front wears sunglasses, a patterned coat, and a beret. The man behind wears glasses and a jacket, exuding a serious, contemplative mood. Dark buildings silhouette the background.
My search for meaning in Black style began as a search through ancestry to reveal beauty and complexity over time and across traditions of expression.
Grace Wales Bonner
August 15
Young Black man standing in a body of water, upright looking up at the sky. He wears a traditional African attire, while one hand extends above him.
How do African dress traditions shape and inspire the possibilities of contemporary fashion and Black identity?
Idelle Taye
August 8
Covers of Fashioning the Self volumes one and two
Recent acquisitions and highlights in The Costume Institute Library.
Julie Lê
July 30
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