Tags
black history, black history in fashion, black history month, black models in fashion, first black model to work with Yves st Laurent, first black models, Mounia, Mounia model, yves st laurent
Mounia
Monique Orosemane, better known only as Mounia
Yves Saint Laurent was one of the first designers to introduce black models in his runway shows, which raised many eyebrows at the time.
Mounia was discovered by the fashion designer Givenchy in her hometown of of Martinique. He encouraged her to move to Paris to pursue modeling. Her modeling led her to collaborate with Yves Saint Laurent, a relationship that brought her stardom, she had become his first Black muse.
Mounia & YSL
Working with YSL, Mounia was given the opportunity to grace the covers of Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, WWD and Essence magazine. She also walked the runways for Dior, Chanel, Emanuel Ungaro, Gianni Versace, Calvin Klein, Giorgio Armani, Valentino, and Givenchy.
Mounia
“I was his first black muse…He helped open the door for black models.”
-Mounia
YSL
