When creative couple Ilene Sova and Byron Armstrong came up with the idea for their new exhibition, Too Much Fashion: An Ode to Black Creative Resilience, their goal was to uplift and emphasize the importance of Black people in global style. “From the elegance of the Black Dandy and the flamboyance of African Sapeurs, to the rebellious swagger of hip-hop streetwear and Jamaican Rude Boy flair, Black communities around the world have continually shaped and redefined global fashion,” they point out on the exhibit’s website, where they also situate their work as an “homage to the vibrancy and legacy of Black style as both an aesthetic and an act of resistance.” Featuring artists including Ojo Agi, Benny Bing, Veronica Dorsett, Kachelle Knowles, Kriss Munsya, Ehiko Odeh, Adetona Omokanye, Janice Reid and Gordon Shadrach, Too Much Fashion brings together a variety of artistic disciplines and perspectives to illustrate the vibrant, political and above all beautiful intersection of art, fashion and Blackness. So, I was thrilled to chat with the duo about their inspiration, the 2025 Met Gala and why Black style is currently in the zeitgeist and the importance of creating accessible art spaces. Read on for our chat!

How did this exhibition come about?

As a couple raising a child, we work together all the time, just differently. We go to a lot of exhibitions together, and when we travel to other cities, we make a point to check out the local art scenes. We connect with each other by discussing art and ideas.

We began to think about a curatorial project we could undertake together with the intention of being inclusive and celebratory. We have both been to “Black art” shows where the focus has been on trauma. We wanted to get away from that. The idea for this show came about as a celebration of Black creativity and the resilience needed to overcome barriers. It felt like something relatable on several levels. As cultural makers, we are always thinking about the intersections between art and real-life themes that are relevant to people outside of cultural or arts circles. Where Too Much Fashion is concerned, it made sense for us to lean into our strengths—Ilene as an artist-educator and curator, and myself as an arts and culture writer with an eye for art. This would be the inspiration for our curatorial company, Armova, which is an amalgamation of the first and last three letters of both our surnames.

The idea sat on the back burner for a bit until United Contemporary moved from their old location and into the same building where our studio is located. As a writer, I had already covered exhibitions at United Contemporary, and we both knew gallery director Melanie Trojkovic, and Burke Paterson, founder and owner, from exhibition openings we’ve attended and the local art scene. When we pitched the exhibition to them, they were excited by the proposal, and they agreed to partner with us.

“Even, Genetic Bomb” (2022) by Kriss Munsya

Take me through the process of curating this exhibition—how long did it take, and how did you choose the artists you featured?

The Too Much Fashion project began around two years ago as the kernel of an idea. We began brainstorming this concept shortly after the passing of André Leon Talley and Virgil Abloh, who passed a few short months apart. Both of these innovators spoke about the challenges of navigating their careers as Black creatives. Their resilience and their ongoing push for inclusion spoke to us.

This dynamic and accessible theme allowed us to curate for audiences that aren’t art academics or cultural workers. We wanted an exhibition for people who may not experience the traditional “art gallery” as a safe or inclusive space. That feeling intersects with the underlying theme of resilience that has broken, and continues to break down, barriers. It’s no secret that the clothes you wear have an impact on how you feel, and Black people have leaned into style to find our confidence. So much so, we’re global influencers, shaping popular culture despite the attempts to systematically erase or lock us out of cultural institutions.

With Toronto being the most diverse city in the world, we wanted the show to reflect that. So, we chose artists with backgrounds from the Caribbean, Africa, and Canada. With that, also comes the brilliant colours of the diaspora, which we also wanted to be displayed in the exhibition. As such, we chose artists (Benny Bing, Veronica Dorsett, Ojo Agi, Adetona Omokanye, Gordon Shadrach, Ehiko Odeh, Janice Reid, Kachelle Knowles) whose work was a great representation of this on its own, but could also make sense cohesively. That also follows with regards to practice, with a mix of mediums and disciplines—painting, collage, photography—being considered for the show.

“6IX-LOVE 04” (2025) by Veronica Dorsett

**I love that it's called Too Much Fashion. How did you land on this title?**

via GIPHY

“Too much fashion” is a popular, cheeky catchphrase used by André Leon Talley, and we always knew we wanted to use it. The “Creative Ode to Black Creative Resilience” was just organic because that’s exactly what we envision the show to be.

Why did you choose to focus on "Black cultural influence, creative resilience, and the enduring intersections between fashion and art across the Black diaspora" right now? I'm curious if the Met Gala's Black Dandyism theme played a role in your inspiration, or if that was just really good timing!

The funny thing is, the concept of this show, which came [to us] two years back, had no direct connection to the Met Gala event. In fact, this show almost didn’t happen because when I heard about the Black Dandyism theme this year, I didn’t want to be thought of as copycats. I give full credit to Ilene for convincing me that this was a theme in the zeitgeist and to just go with it. In her world, coincidences are typically the universe trying to tell you that you’re on to something. So that was all just good timing, I guess.

Having the opening on Caribana weekend and displaying the exhibition over the month of August (during Emancipation Month) was very much premeditated. Carnival is itself a celebration of resistance, with roots in the Caribbean tied to a refusal to erase our ties to Africa. That artistry through costumery is celebrated in parts of Africa like Nigeria—Adetona Omokanye’s work in the show visually demonstrates this—and again, the colours of the Black diaspora reflected in the work call back to all that. So the timing of the show was intentional.

“Untitled 7 (Spiritually Fashionable)” (2021) by Adetona Omokanye

Can you tell me a bit about your respective philosophies when it comes to curatorial work?

We want to curate exhibitions that art professors can enjoy from a critical perspective, but also the school bus driver who takes the art professors’ kids to school can feel comfortable attending. Hopefully, they both experience something profound, relatable, or just relevant. The best feedback I’ve heard from people who have seen the show is the feeling of exhilaration or excitement they’ve gotten from it. On the opening night, a viewer said, “I live in midtown and was going to take transit, but I feel so good I think I’m just gonna walk home.” That’s incredible. There were community members who spent so much time in front of work that spoke to them. We found that each person we spoke to found something they connected to personally or even culturally. People are really drawn to the colour, the celebration and the power in these images. These rich conversations we have been having prove that you don’t need to be an art critic with an MFA in Curatorial Studies in order to get Too Much Fashion at all.

What can visitors expect from the rest of the show’s run?

Along with the show being open for the entire month, we also plan to activate the space with social events. For instance, we’ve been running private tours of the exhibition for corporate groups and members of the public in the gallery, and we’ve already had a successful ‘standing room only’ panel moderated by the OCAD University’s Dean of Design Dr. Lesley-Ann Noel, with exhibiting artists Gordon Shadrach, Ehiko Odeh, and Veronica Dorsett.

Upcoming, we’re partnering with Imani Busby and The Gift Shop, who will be organizing a salon-style roundtable discussion with local artists, both visual and music-based, on Saturday August 23rd—exhibiting artists Janice Reid, Adetona Omokanye, Ehiko Odeh, Veronica Dorsett and Benny Bing will be in attendance for that. There will also be music industry bigwigs like Vel Omazic (CEO of Canada's Music Incubator & Former Sony Music Exec) and R.O.Z (Artist & Co-Founder of EMB Music Group) present for the roundtable.

There will also be a closing event on Saturday, August 30th, with a performance courtesy of singer/songwriter Brendan Philip that promises to be something you don’t want to miss.

Too Much Fashion is at United Contemporary (129 Tecumseth Street, Toronto) until August 30, 2025.

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Two Toronto Curators on Their New Exhibit Celebrating Black Style

By Stacy Lee Kong