What the quarter-zip craze tells us about Blackness and respectability | Code Switch
January 24, 2026
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18:38Now PlayingWhat the quarter-zip craze tells us about Blackness and respectability | Code Switch
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as posted by the channelWhat does the humble, boring quarterzip sweater have to do with respectability politics and Blackness? Apparently, a lot! When two young Black men on TikTok brought the quarterzip into vogue for young folks, they unknowingly waded into some very longlived discourse on Black fashion and looking "respectable." Today on the pod, we chop it up with Jonathan Square () , professor of Black visual culture at Parsons School of Design () , about Black fashion, and what's happening more broadly to make this pretty plain sweater the "it" garment.
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