In celebration of the exhibition Patrick Kelly: Runway of Love and Black History Month, the Kelly Initiative and the de Young paired up to invite creatives across fields to share a sketch inspired by Kelly and his designs. Here, Kibwe Chase-Marshall, cofounder of the Kelly Initiative, speaks with illustrator Coz Conover about his sketch and Kelly’s legacy.
I am a pen ink and paper kind of person. I always come back to my pen and paper; that’s my happy place. I did some rough pencil sketches to come up with the outfits, but when I sat to draw this trio, I just went in with pen and paper. Then I retraced it and colored it on an iPad.
I chose to illustrate a trio of looks inspired by Patrick Kelly’s work, but I designed pieces that I dreamed up myself. I chose to sketch what I would make if I was heading his design studio now. I did three looks because I was really inspired by the Oliviero Toscani photos of Patrick Kelly’s clothes that show these joyful groups of women. On the far left, I drew a skintight cocktail dress covered in Polaroid photos of buttons. I chose to put hosiery on [it] because those black pantyhose are such a part of his look. The middle figure is an elegant creature; she is wearing a look with the Patrick Kelly icons exploded all over her. The figure on the right embodies the rigor of what Patrick Kelly does.
Something that I love about Patrick Kelly is the way that his clothes feel like they came from an illustrator, like they came right out of a sketchbook. They have that “candy red” energy, that graphic nature. When I think of him, I think of people, a team, a community.
Coz Conover often evokes an elusive, Garbo-like mystique: details about exactly who he is and where he comes from remain intentionally eclipsed by the digital virality of his one-of-a-kind illustrations. These Instagram-published renderings celebrate, amplify, and trick out a myriad of resolutely Black femme experiences, personae, and advocacies. A SoCal resident, Conover pops into his own scroll occasionally to drop an elaborately staged seaside selfie punctuated by glittery lips and flame-red calla lilies. @cozcon
Kibwe Chase-Marshall cut his professional teeth as an apparel designer, working within the studios of some of 7th Avenue's most influential brands (Michael Kors, Isaac Mizrahi, Gap Inc.), before carving out a space in the editorial community as a contributing writer and market editor (Town & Country, Paper, Elle.com). Since 2018, he has diligently operated as an equity advocate, most recently cofounding the Kelly Initiative, a four-point, industry-evolving plan to increase access to opportunities for Black fashion professionals. @byanyseamnecessary
Patrick Kelly: Runway of Love is on view at the de Young museum from October 23, 2021 to April 24, 2022.
