Tami Williams was the first Caribbean and youngest model to cover French Elle. This Jamaican beauty was discovered at the age of 12 by Saint International agency. It wasn't until the age of 15 she began making appearances on runways for designers like Marc Jacobs, Alexander Wang, Jason Wu, Calvin Klein, and other top designers. ♥[...]
Naomi Campbell was the last African American to be featured in a Prada ad campaign in 1994. Nineteen years later, Malaika Firth became the newest face of Prada in a Fall/Winter 2013 advertisement. Malaika Firth was born on March 23, 1994, in Mombassa, Kenya. Firth's modeling career started at the age of 17. She was encouraged to try out modeling after her mother watched an episode of The Model Agency, which featured a documentary about Premier Model Management. Firth's mom called the agency[...]
Lebron James was the first African American male to grace the cover of Vogues April 2008 Shape issue alongside fashion model Gisele Bündchen. This cover received much criticism for "perpetuating racial stereotypes" James's pose has been compared to the image of King Kong holding Fay Ray. "Everything my name is on is going to be criticized in a good way or bad way...Who cares what anyone says" Source:Huffington Post //[...]
Kathleen Bradley was the first [permanent] African-American model on The Price Is Right from 1990 to 2000. Growing up in Girard, Ohio, Bradley moved to Los Angeles where she was won numerous beauty titles, including Miss Black California in 1971. One of Bradley's most memorable roles was the character she played in the hit film, “Friday” as Mrs. Parker, starring Ice Cube and Chris Tucker. Source: Kathleen Bradley ♥[...]
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" // // ]]> ♥[...]
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[...]
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[...]