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There’s a somber scene in a new documentary about Patrick Kelly, where executive producers Jess Manning and Ray Cornelius are at the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center, about to dive into research about the late fashion designer.
To their surprise, there are only seven small boxes, containing photos, sketches, notes, and a scattering of trinkets to go through. It’s a stark contrast to Kelly’s vivid legacy, one that viewers will eventually see depicted in “Love, Patrick: Nothing is Impossible” — a boisterous retelling of how a Black man would unknowingly shape the generations of designers that would come after him.
Before the likes of Telfar Clemens, LaQuan Smith, or the late Virgil Abloh became fashion industry forces, Kelly blazed a trail of his own. In just the six short years when his formal ready-to-wear line was actively in production, Kelly landed a six-page spread in ELLE magazine, maintained a robust clientele that included everyone from Madonna to Cicely Tyson and even Princess Diana, and became the first Black designer to be inducted into what is now known as the Federation de la Haute Couture, France’s governing fashion body.
