In early November 2025, the African American Museum in Philadelphia hosted the opening reception for "Ruth E. Carter: Afrofuturism in Costume Design," a traveling exhibition that anchors the museum's 50th anniversary. At the gala, guests climbed the museum's ramps to the sound of R&B singer Keke Wyatt performing and the sight of film clips projected on the walls. The show, which runs through September 6, 2026, is the exhibition's longest stop to date.
The exhibition features nearly 80 original costumes from films that have shaped global culture, including both "Black Panther" films, "Selma," "Do the Right Thing," "Amistad," "Dolemite Is My Name," "Coming 2 America," and, for the first time ever, "Sinners." It also includes pieces from "Malcolm X" and other Spike Lee collaborations.
The debut of "Sinners" costumes is a highlight, with the suits worn by Smoke and Stack among the featured items. The exhibition also showcases costumes from Carter's more than four-decade career, including the famous Black Panther suit worn by Chadwick Boseman and Queen Ramonda's headdress worn by Angela Bassett in "Black Panther." The headdress was inspired by a real South African wedding adornment and then 3D-printed, marrying tradition with modern technology.
Carter's journey began in Springfield, Massachusetts, where she was raised. Her mother's sewing machine, which she used as a drawing table as a girl, is on display. At Hampton University, she discovered costume design after being asked to costume a play; she went to the library to learn what a costume designer was and eventually created her own curriculum. She worked in theater in Los Angeles before Spike Lee hired her for his 1988 film "School Daze." She and Lee have since collaborated on more than a dozen films, including "Do the Right Thing" and "Malcolm X," which earned Carter her first Oscar nomination.
In 2019, Carter became the first Black person to win the Oscar for costume design, for "Black Panther." She won again in 2023 for "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," making her the first Black woman to win two Academy Awards. The exhibition debuted in 2020 at SCAD FASH Museum in Atlanta, co-curated with Julia Long, with colorful sets painted by artist Brandon Sadler. Since then, it has traveled to Roanoke, Seattle, Raleigh, Detroit, Williamsburg, and Indianapolis before arriving in Philadelphia.
"Her exhibition creates so many avenues to talk about aspects of culture, history and artistic design," said Michael Wilson, assistant curator at AAMP. The exhibition remains on view at the African American Museum in Philadelphia, 701 Arch Street, through September 6, 2026.