Carol M. Highsmith via Library of Congress, Commons
The iconic fashion house is spotlighting the history and legacy of Alabama’s Gee’s Bend quiltmakers.
Ralph Lauren is spotlighting one of Black America’s most celebrated artistic traditions through a new collaboration with the legendary quilters of Gee’s Bend, Alabama.
As part of the company’s Artist in Residence program, the new line features acclaimed quiltmakers Claudia Pettway Charley and Loretta Pettway Bennett, whose original textile designs have inspired a limited-edition collection of apparel, accessories, home décor, and collectible pieces. The collaboration reflects the luxury fashion brand’s latest effort to partner with and highlight historically underrepresented artisans, reports Fast Company.
For generations, the women of Gee’s Bend—a small Black community whose residents descend from enslaved people who worked a former Alabama plantation—have transformed discarded denim, work clothes, flour sacks, and fabric scraps into striking quilts now recognized as masterpieces of American art. Their work has appeared in the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
“These quilts kept families warm when there wasn’t any heating in the house,” Pettway Charley told Fast Company. “They didn’t have money to buy new fabrics. So you think about the struggle, the hardship, and how they turned sorrow into something beautiful.”
Pettway Bennett also emphasized the importance of preserving the craft across generations. Referring to a red triangle stitched into one of her quilts, she explained, “That one red piece represents another bloodline that’s coming… Now it’s my turn to be the grandma. I am giving her a taste of what I had when I was growing up, passing down the legacy.”
Gee’s Bend was later purchased in 1937 by the federal government, which allowed Black residents to buy back land through low-interest loans. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. also visited the historic community during the Civil Rights Movement in 1965 after ferry services were terminated to prevent inhabitants from voting.
In addition to celebrating Black craftsmanship, the Ralph Lauren x Gee’s Bend collection will support the Equal Justice Initiative’s hunger relief and direct assistance programs benefiting low-income families throughout Alabama, including Gee’s Bend. The collaboration also represents overdue recognition of Black cultural traditions that have historically been used as inspiration and even appropriated by luxury fashion labels. By placing Gee’s Bend artisans at the center of the collection, Ralph Lauren acknowledges the economic value of Black craftsmanship while helping preserve an artistic legacy that continues to influence American design.
RELATED CONTENT: Far More Than Fabric: Recognizing Black Quiltmakers On National Quilt Day
Source: Black Enterprise
