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  • -(saxophone plays smooth jazz) -(applause and cheering)

  • Ah. Welcome to "CP Time,"

  • the only show that's for the culture.

  • Today, we'll be discussing

  • black contributions to fashion.

  • Normally, when we think about black fashion,

  • we think about church hats so big,

  • they block your view of Jesus.

  • Or we think about those suits that Steve Harvey wears

  • that hog all the buttons.

  • Leave some buttons for the rest of us, Steve.

  • Been keeping my clothes together with staples.

  • But in actuality, the world of fashion has been filled

  • with influential and iconic African-American designers,

  • like our first trailblazer,

  • Zelda Wynn Valdes,

  • who was one of the first designers

  • whose clothing accentuated women's curves.

  • Before her, women's fashion covered up their figures

  • with big-ass skirts the size of a Carnival Cruise ship.

  • Women would get lost just bending over to tie their shoes.

  • Zelda's curve-flaunting designs were so popular

  • that Hugh Hefner asked her to design the iconic outfit

  • for the Playboy bunnies.

  • I never went to the Playboy Mansion myself

  • 'cause I was married,

  • and I also have a severe phobia of rabbits.

  • You never know where rabbits are hiding.

  • If you can pull one out of a hat,

  • you can pull one out of anywhere.

  • Kiss my ass. I don't want to be around that.

  • Another black creator of couture is Stephen Burrows.

  • He rose to fashion prominence

  • in the early '70s during the disco era.

  • I was always confused by disco.

  • I couldn't tell who was dancing

  • and who was giving me directions.

  • (laughter)

  • But disco isn't just about the moves.

  • It's about the fashion, which Stephen Burrows helped shape.

  • He hung out at Studio 54,

  • and was popular among its celebrity regulars.

  • He was the first to design clothes

  • that were comfortable on the dance floor,

  • even at 3:00 a.m.,

  • right when the cocaine hit so hard,

  • you thought you were the disco ball.

  • Cocaine was better in the '70s.

  • (laughter)

  • Burrows also invented "lettucing,"

  • which is when you make the material at the edge

  • of a garment curve and ripple,

  • like a piece of lettuce.

  • I'll have to take his word for it,

  • because I've never eaten a piece of lettuce.

  • My favorite vegetable is caramel-covered popcorn.

  • And, finally, our last designer brings us to the modern day.

  • Virgil Abloh, the first African-American

  • artistic director at Louis Vuitton,

  • and driving force behind this decade's streetwear movement.

  • He made high-end fashion take streetwear seriously.

  • You know, fancy logos, T-shirts, chunky sneakers, hoodies.

  • Pretty much anything you're not supposed to wear to a funeral,

  • unless you and the deceased had beef.

  • Rest in peace, Spencer.

  • These Jordans are stepping on your grave.

  • Now, don't be fooled by the term "streetware."

  • One of Abloh's biggest companies, Off-White,

  • sells sweatpants for over $300,

  • and this luxury undershirt costs $200.

  • Although I don't know why you would spend so much money

  • on a shirt that ain't nobody gonna see.

  • You know how much I paid for my underwear?

  • Nothing.

  • A six-pack of drawers fell off the back of a Walmart truck

  • in 1987, and I never looked back.

  • So the next time you zip your fly,

  • and you're looking fly,

  • remember the African American fashion trailblazers

  • who made you that blazer.

  • Now, if you'd excuse me,

  • I'm gonna make my first shirt.

  • Retail price: $10,000.

  • This old man has his debts.

  • Well, that's all the time we have for today.

  • I'm Roy Wood Jr., and this has been CP Time.

  • And remember, for the culture.

  • Make me some... Ooh!

  • Damn. Somebody get me a napkin. I'm bleeding on my fabric.

  • -♪ ♪ -(cheering, applause)

-(saxophone plays smooth jazz) -(applause and cheering)

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