Black Public Media presents a short film that couldn’t be more timely. Acclaimed filmmaker Stacey L. Holman’s Dressed Like Kings dropped on BPM’s AfroPoP Digital Shorts series in honor of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Superfine: Tailoring Black Style exhibition — a spotlight on Black dandyism — and in time for Juneteenth.
Dressed Like Kings offers a rare, visually rich glimpse into “oswenka,” a South African tradition where working-class men compete for the title of “Best Dressed” in flamboyant weekly pageants. For these men, sharp tailoring is more than fashion — it’s a declaration of dignity, identity and pride. It’s clear that dandyism, or particular attention to a stylish presentation, extends to Africa.
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The film features Monica L. Miller as an expert, long before her stint as guest curator of Superfine: Tailoring Black Style. She speaks of Black men’s use of fashion to resist racial oppression.
Across time and continents, Black communities have used fashion as a tool of resistance, resilience and reclamation — whether in post-apartheid South Africa or post-emancipation America. Dressed Like Kings honors that lineage with grace and style. Directed by Holman (The Black Church, Tell Them We Are Rising), the film is executive produced by Sam Pollard and Kisha Imani Cameron. Holman, Xolisza Sithole, Carey McKenzie and Sharon Lomofsky are producers.
The film is now streaming on BPM’s YouTube channel. Watch below:
