In the 1960s, Khadejha McCall had many elements of rising fashion stars. She dressed celebrities from her era, like singer and pianist Nina Simone, and interacted with others, including drummer and bandleader Art Blakey. Publications like Life Magazine have written about her, and influential New Yorkers like Andy Warhol have visited her shop, Khadejha Designs, at 5 St. Marks Place in Manhattan's East Village.
McCall, who passed away in 1987 in 2020, was known for creating clothes in trendy silhouettes using lively fabrics inspired by African Kanga textiles. Her shop and her outfits were “on the cutting edge,” said author Ada Calhoun, who interviewed McCall for her 2015 book, “St. Marks Is Dead.”
“We had all these new designs, these new fabrics, these new silhouettes,” added Calhoun (49). “It wasn't out of the fashion house. It felt like it came from the bottom up, not from the top down.”
Recently, the remains of Khadejha's designs are mainly present in memories and old articles. McCall closed the store and moved to Canada in the late 1960s. She then worked primarily as an artist and teacher. But behind the padlocked doors of a rental storage unit in Mabreton, Georgia, there is a business relic that put her on a fashion map about 60 years ago.
“There's a lot here,” said Malik McCall, the son of Atlanta teacher and actor McCall, as he went through the unit's contents.
