Free with UChicago ID

The Color Is: Fashion Exhibition takes its title from the dynamic Emerald City scene of the 1978 film adaptation of The Wiz. The fashion objects pay tribute to Black aesthetics and innovation throughout history, drawing its influence from Ebony Fashion Fair, New York City Ballroom Scene, and Black Cinema. The Color Is consists of 40-45 couture looks and fashion objects created by Nick Cave and Jack Cave with specialty collaborators. All works are constructed from a wide variety of materials: beads, wire, sequins, recycled textiles, and custom prints. The ensembles feature intricate layering that is emblematic of human universality, highlighting complexity, color, and uniqueness. According to both Cave brothers the clothing is genderless, and more than four hundred individual items can be composed into limitless looks, all designed and crafted by the artists.