Food & Drink
High Style: Erika Dalya Massaquoi
The visual arts curator and educator is making a bold statement in Seattle
By Seattle Mag July 30, 2013
This article originally appeared in the August 2013 issue of Seattle magazine.
Personal Style: Leschi’s Erika Dalya Massaquoi is a fashion chameleon, absorbing and reflecting the many moods and styles of her influences, which are as diverse and far reaching as the Miami of her childhood and her parents’ interest in civil rights and modernism. “I’m all about the high/low mix,” Massaquoi says. “You see me in vintage mixed with Africana and JCrew, Marni or Prada with a pair of beat-down Converse. I’ve been wearing those since 1986.”
The Brains Behind the Bangles: This recent New York transplant has an impressive CV, which includes a Ph.D. in cinema studies from New York University. Massaquoi served as an assistant dean of the School of Art and Design at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) and was a curatorial assistant at the Whitney Museum of American Art. She worked as a commentator on NPR’s All Things Considered, and her love of fashion led her to a stint as an on-air correspondent for the Oxygen channel from 2000 to 2004, for which she interviewed Reed Krakoff, Ralph Rucci and Donna Karan, among others.
See and Be Seen: “Fashion solves the visual problem of who you are,” Massaquoi says. “It’s a narrative form, like film.” Her attunement to culture gave her a love of the joyous and colorful prints of African textiles and edgy design, but her Southern roots gave her a love of pearls and high heels. “I always feel overdressed in Seattle, but that doesn’t stop me from rocking my look.”
WHAT’S IN A NAME:
Massaquoi is taking Seattle’s arts community by storm, with an exhibit at this year’s Bumbershoot fest called Fashiony that explores African and Asian illustration and street fashion around the world in three workroom-style galleries. Another show, co-curated with SAM’s curator of African and Oceanic Art, called Disguise, is set for 2015 at SAM.
Follow Us
Costco Hikes Membership Fees
The company last raised the price in 2017
[addtoany]I love shopping at Costco. Sure, our household doesn’t always need 18 tubes of toothpaste at once, but that’s a small price to pay for the savings. Even just one purchase — a computer, for instance — can recoup a basic membership fee. Rumors have been swirling for years that the company would raise its…
16 Local Gifts for a Seattle Mother’s Day
A funny candle, a meaningful necklace, and the best sundae in town
Let's talk about Mother's Day. It's a holiday that can feel a tad complex. Maybe you're planning to spoil your mom with a spa day, or maybe you're finding ways to honor her memory or handle some tricky emotions. No matter how you choose to celebrate, we’ve rounded up some fun and local gift ideas.
The Best Gifts for Travel Lovers
Tinsel, eggnog, mistletoe, and luggage
Travel lovers are the easiest people to buy for. Wrap a gift in old maps and they’ll spend hours deciphering the roadways and important coordinates. Put something inside the wrapping that will satiate their wanderlust, or encourage it, and you might be their next invitee to Paris.