Seven decades ago, Giovanni Battista Giorgini set the course for what would become one of Italy's greatest achievements: fashion.

This Black History Month, learn about Ann Lowe, the African-American designer behind Manhattan's elite fashion of the mid-20th century.

From ancient armor to contemporary sartorial statement, the juxtaposition of the breastplate’s innate masculinity melded with an exaggeration of the female form has captured the curiosity of fashion’s most prolific creatives.