Tuxedo jacket worn by Lena Waithe to the 2017 Emmy Awards
date: label: Date
content: 2017
name: label: Created by
content: Alba, American
label: Worn by
content: Lena Waithe, American, born 1984
label: Subject of
content: National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, American, founded 1955
notes: label: Caption
content: Lena Waithe is an American actress, producer, and screenwriter known for her supporting role and writing credits in the Netflix series Master of None (2015) and her original Showtime show The Chi. Waithe, a gay African American woman, used her own coming out story as the inspiration for the acclaimed Master of None "Thanksgiving" episode she wrote and starred in. Waithe wore this custom designed suit to the Primetime Emmy Awards in 2017, where she and Master of None creator Aziz Ansari won for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series. Waithe became the first African American woman to win the award. During her acceptance speech, she sent a special message to the LGTBQ community by stating, "Things that make us different - those are our superpowers."
label: Description
content: A black and gold brocade tuxedo jacket, part of a three-piece suit made by Jhoanna Alba for Lena Waithe and worn by Waithe to the 2017 Emmy Awards ceremony. The exterior of the jacket features an all-over bright and faded gold leaf pattern on a black background. There is a silk shawl collar and lapel, below which is one black fabric button, and a small breast pocket at the proper left side. There are bust darts on each side, right and left besom pockets, and four black fabric buttons at each sleeve’s wrist. Princess seaming shapes the front of the jacket, continuing onto the back where there are two vents. The interior is lined in a highly patterned, greyish light bronze silk. The shoulders are padded, significant tearing in the lining at both shoulder/armpit seams, exposing the ivory color padding. A square black fabric tag that reads, ALBA, in embroidery, is sewn across from the buttonhole on proper right of the jacket. At the buttonhole, there is a hook and eye closure. On the proper right, another fabric tag is embroidered with the words: [DESIGNED FOR / Lena Waithe / ALBA] in black and grey. Alongside the lower half of the silk lapel, on the left and right interior, are open half-pockets.
place: label: Place used
content: Los Angeles, California, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Actors
label: Topic
content: Clothing and dress
label: Topic
content: Comedy
label: Topic
content: Design
label: Topic
content: Fashion design
label: Topic
content: LGBTQ
label: Topic
content: Television
label: Topic
content: Women
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Clothing - Costume
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Lena Waithe
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2019.1.1
objectType: label: Type
content: jackets
label: Type
content: tuxedoes
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: © Alba
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Lamé brocade, silk (fiber), polyester, metal and velvet trimming (material)
label: Dimensions
content: L x W (jacket): 28 15/16 × 18 1/2 in. (73.5 × 47 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: Chest: 19 11/16 in. (50 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: L x W (Sleeve): 23 1/16 × 9 1/16 in. (58.5 × 23 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: Waist: 22 13/16 in. (58 cm)