Sara Lou Harris was the first black model to appear in national advertisements. She was featured in a national poster campaign for Lucky Strike cigarettes during the 1940s. Breaking barriers, Harris helped change the way black models were viewed in the fashion industry. She was the first black model in the New York buyers fashion show. “We launched black girls into the modeling field and I was the first to become a national poster girl for cigarette advertising" // // ]]> ♥[...]
Born and raised in Bronx, New York, Tomiko Fraser was the first African American to represent Maybelline New York for 8 years. Fraser has also been featured on countless billboards, magazine ads & commercials on behalf of the cosmetics brand. She's appeared in print and television campaigns for brands like Tommy Hilfiger, Alfani, The Gap, Old Navy, Lee Jeans & Target. Fraser has graced the pages of magazines around the world, including German Vogue, Glamour, British Marie Claire, Cosmo[...]
The first Barbie doll was created in 1959 by Ruth Handler. It wasn't until 1968 that Barbie was introduced to a new friend Black "Christie". In 1980 Mattel finally released a black version of Barbie "Black Barbie". Since 1980, the face of Black Barbie has gone through multiple changes. She now comes in a variety of shades like real African American women. Now only if Mattel would make Barbies with realistic body types. I remember growing up playing with Barbie dolls. I appreciat[...]
Sterling St. Jacques was the world's first black male supermodel. Before Tyson Beckford, there was Sterling St. Jacques. Sterling St.Jacques was not only a model he was also a singer and dancer in the New York fashion scene in the late 1970s and early 1980s. St. Jacques was quite the party boy during his time. He was 6'2 and stunningly handsome with gray eyes (but he often wore blue contacts). People referred to him as a flawless physical specimen. St. Jacques did print and runway for des[...]
Dorothea Towles Church was the first model to walk the runway for French designers. Dorothea Towles Church was born on July 26, 1922. After graduating from Wiley College in Marshall, Texas, Church moved to L. A where she enrolled at the Dorothy Farrier Charm and Modeling School, becoming the first African American student to attend. After marrying her husband, the two took a trip to Paris. While there she looked for modeling work, she ended up being hired by designer Christian Dior to[...]
Lana Ogilvie was the first black model to sign a contract with CoverGirl cosmetics in 1992. Ogilvie was born in Toronto, Ontario. She was first discovered at a high school fashion show and went on to sign with Elite and Ford Models. // (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o), m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m) })(window,document,'script','//www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga'); ga('create',[...]
During London Fashion Week for Spring 2013, Philip Treacy's presentation featured all-black models during his Michael Jackson themed runway show. "The show was a homage to the African woman and their sensibility to dress up" Source: HuffPost[...]
Jan Ernst Matzeliger was an African-American inventor in the shoe industry. Matzeliger was born September 15, 1852, in Paramaribo, Suriname, to a father who was a Dutch engineer and a mother who was a black Surinamese slave. At the age of 10, Matzeliger began working in machine shops under his father's guidance, until leaving his hometown of Suriname to be a sailor on an East Indian merchant ship, where he later settled in Philadelphia. As a dark-skinned man, his options were limited, and[...]
Scott Barrie was best known for his sexy matte jersey dresses, which were popular in the 1970s and 1980s. Scott Barrie whose real name was Nelson Clyde Barr was born in Philadelphia in January 1946. As a kid, Barrie knew he wanted to be a designer. He started making his own clothing using his grandmother's sewing machine at the age of 10. Barrie studied Applied Arts at the Philadelphia Museum College and Art and Fashion Design at the Mayer School of Fashion where he graduated in 1965. As a wa[...]
There were other models before her, but Helen Williams was the first black model to cross over into mainstream. Helen Williams was born in East Riverton, New Jersey in 1937. With her love of fashion, she began sewing her own garments at the age of seven. At 17, Williams worked as a stylist at a New York photography studio. She was spotted on separate occasions by Lena Horne and Sammy Davis Jr, who happened to be in the studio doing press shots. They encouraged her to pursue a career in f[...]