They made one-of-a-kind quilts that captured the public's imagination. Then Target came along

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Over the past two decades, Gee’s Bend quilts have captured the public’s imagination with their kaleidoscopic colors and their daring geometric patterns. Direct descendants of slaves in rural Alabama managed to cultivate a groundbreaking art practice while facing oppression, geographic isolation and intense material constraints.

This photo provided by Tangular Irby shows a Gee’s Bend x Target display at a Target store in Trumbull, Conn., Feb. 10, 2024. The multinational retailer launched a limited-edition collection based on the Gee’s Bend quilters’ designs for Black History Month in 2024. The Target designs were “inspired by” five Gee’s Bend quilters who reaped limited financial benefits from the collection’s success.

“We’re actually in a quilt revival right now, like in real time,” says Sharbreon Plummer, an artist and scholar. “They’re so popularized, and Target knew that. It created the biggest buzz when it came out.” Indeed, there has been a resurgence of interest among Gen Z and millennials in conscious consumption and the homemade — withThe Target designs were “inspired by” five Gee’s Bend quilters who reaped limited financial benefits from the collection’s success.

While thumbnail-size photos of the makers appeared on some marketing materials and the text “Gee’s Bend” was printed on clothing tags, the company’s engagement with the quilters was limited. As soon asThe situation today mirrors that of the 1990s, when somesty quilters enjoyed newfound visibility, others were disinterested and still others felt taken advantage of.

The older generations of Gee’s Bend quilters are known for one-of-a-kind designs with clashing colors and irregular, wavy lines — visual effects borne of their material constraints. Most worked at night in houses without electricity and didn’t have basic tools like scissors, let alone access to fabric stores.for $100 to $8,000, has characterized having scissors and access to more fabrics now as a paradox of “advantage and a disadvantage.

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