Ike Ude, a New York artist of Nigerian origin, embraces dandyismâa practice centered on rejecting fixed identities and mediocrity. Despite refusing to label himself, Ude embodies this discipline, blending art and personality. His influence is significant this season, coinciding with the exhibition 'Superfine: Tailoring Black Style' at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which he consulted on and contributed to. Ude's connections to Black dandyism are further highlighted through his contributions to a Vogue feature and the ongoing discussions around Black diasporic identity in fashion.
I don't think I should elect to call myself anything, he said. If pressed, though, the elegant Mr. Ude... will acknowledge that dandyism is a discipline.
Dandyism is all about refusal of fixed identities, of mediocrity, of gender conventions, of the boundary between life and art.
Mr. Ude served as a special consultant to the exhibition, a work of his appears in the show, and he also provided the catalog's epilogue, written partly in dandyist aphorisms.
This season, Black dandyism and Mr. Ude are very much in the conversation.
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