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Only Toni: A 25 Year Retrospective of an African American Fashion Designer

Presented by Houston Museum of African American Culture (HMAAC)

May 2, 2009

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Toni Whitaker Loft and the Houston Museum of African American Culture (HMAAC) are partnering to present Only Toni: A 25 Year Retrospective of an African American Fashion Designer. The benefit will showcase Whitaker’s Spring/Summer 2009 Collection. On view will be a special retrospective to celebrate the silver anniversary of Houston’s most notable African American fashion designer. The exhibition will feature approximately 25 masterworks of haute couture and ready-to-wear.

“This event celebrates the continuing legacy of African American design and style,” says Larry Earl, Executive Director of HMAAC. “More importantly, we are delighted to recognize the contributions that Toni Whitaker, the ‘African American couturier’ of Texas, has made to the canon of American fashion for the past 25 years.”

Whitaker’s work ranges from the inherently dramatic to the smartly utilitarian. Many of her dresses are created in fabrics that Whitaker designed herself. Her work is incredibly personal. There is a part of her in each piece she creates, and the show will highlight her growth and exploration over the last quarter-century.

Proceeds from the event will be used to support the Museum’s exhibition and programming and fund the development of an African American Costume Collection at the Museum.

The evening begins at 7:30pm on Saturday, May 2 at Mercedes-Benz of Houston Greenway, 3900 Southwest Freeway. Co-chairs Dr. Traci Vaughn and former TV personality and gallery owner Lloyd Gite bring their own exciting energy to the event. A post-show party will kick-off immediately afterwards complete with the 4C Lounge — Mercedes-Benz luxury cars, premium cognac, champagne and cigars. Individual tickets range from $75 to $150. Sponsorship packages range from $2,500 to $10,000.

All proceeds benefit the Museum. For more information and to purchase tickets, call M’Kina Tapscott at 713-353-1578 or email mtapscott@mfah.org.

About Toni Whitaker
Essence Magazine lauds the garments of designer Toni Whitaker for their "elegance, simplicity, and old fashioned workmanship". Long established in the southwest for her couture designs, many of the best- dressed women in Texas repeatedly turn to Whitaker when they want to make a distinctive fashion statement at a special social occasion or high profile event. 

Whitaker’s genius is often found on Houston performance stages as well. When Main Street Theater staged a new production of Tony Kushner’s bold musical Caroline, or Change, her costumes - ranging from such characters as The Washing Machine to The Moon to The Bus - garnered attention and acclaim. The Houston Chronicle has, on numerous occasions, praised Whitaker for her innovative and dramatic costume designs for both musical and dramatic productions presented by theater companies around the city, including the Ensemble Theatre and Moore’s School of Music at the University of Houston, as well as Main Street.

Toni Whitaker received her B. S. degree in apparel design from Syracuse University. A native of Camden, South Carolina, Whitaker earned a second B.S. degree in textile technology at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. Before moving to Houston in 1982, Whitaker taught at Arizona State University in Tempe. In Texas, she has taught courses ranging from the history of costume and clothing design to visual merchandising at Texas Southern University, the University of Houston and Prairie View A&M University.

As a professional designer, Whitaker has worked for over twenty-five years in Houston. Her boutique has long been a major fashion institution in the trend setting Rice Village area near Rice University. Known for her stylish and elegant designs often accented by a daring touch of the imagination, Whitaker has established a rapport with her clients that provides for that long association with a particular designer preferred by well-dressed women. Several of Whitaker's clients are repeat honorees on Houston's Best Dressed list, and in 2004 the designer was named the Houston Chronicle's "Ultimate Fashion Designer". Most recently Whitaker launched two very popular lines of couture hats and elegant ready-to-wear in addition to publishing Toni Whitaker Magazine. Her love of the history of fashion has led to her in-depth study of the contributions of African American designers and style-makers to the fashion world.

About the Houston Museum of African American Culture
The Houston Museum of African American Culture (HMAAC) is a new museum taking shape in the heart of the Houston Museum District. HMAAC’s mission is to research, collect, conserve, and present the material and intellectual culture of African Americans in Houston, the state of Texas, the Gulf Coast Region and the Greater Southwest.

The Museum will underscore African American creativity and genius in the arts, sciences, commerce and civic engagement. It is a place where African American innovation, ingenuity and resiliency will be celebrated and the agonizing occurrences of the African American past will be commemorated.

HMAAC will engage visitors of all ages and ethnicities in discovery-driven experiences that are thought-provoking and inspiring. The Museum will utilize its collections, exhibitions and programming to facilitate an ongoing national discussion about the diversity of the American experience and our shared humanity. For additional information, please visit www.HMAAC.com.

About the Artistic Team
Hair and make-up are metaphors for fashion: they share an obsession with the body, its identity and transformation. One of the show’s emerging talents is make-up artist Tanya Robertson.

Hair for the show is created by ultra-imaginative stylist Kimberly Michelle of Studio 31 Hair Lab, who has worked New York Fashion Week runways for designers Patricia Field of "Sex and The City", Zac Posen, Tommy Hilfiger, and Vera Wang. Kimberly Michelle is an International Artistic Director for TIGI, has worked with TONI&GUY for 10 years, and has now transitioned onto the platform with TIGI worldwide.