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 enrol[...]
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28 Days Of Black History: Who Was The First Black Model To Sign A Contract With CoverGirl Cosmetics?
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[...]
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"[...]
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 th[...]
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 t[...]
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 garme[...]
“I thought it was right ... to try to do something to help my own people and to get more exposure. It was also a statement [to] the fashion industry, 'stop this discrimination, black is beautiful.' I am sick and tired of seeing only[...]
Gordon Parks Was The First Black Freelance Photographer For Vogue read more[...]
// // ]]> Detroit native Kevan Hall knew by the age of seven that he wanted to be a fashion designer. After graduating from Cass Technical High School where he studied fashion design and won first place as "Designer of Tomorrow[...]
Meet Ophelia DeVore-Mitchell Founder of The First Black Modeling Agency... Ophelia DeVore-Mitchell was one of the first African American models in the United States. She changed the face of beauty within the fashion industry. Thro[...]