Ola Hudson may not be a household name, but she has made some contributions to fashion. Many black designers do not get the recognition they deserve. So today's black history post is about Ola Hudson. Ola Hudson was born on October 12, 1946, in Los Angeles, California. Before pursuing her career as a designer, Hudson was a trained dancer. She studied at the Lester Horton School of Modern Dance. Shortly after, she went on to study at the Institute of Dance in Paris, at Le Loft[...]
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. Through her modeling agency and school, she promoted the careers of some of the country’s top African American models, entertainers and television personalities. Emma Ophelia DeVore was born on August 12, 1922, in Edgefield, South Carolina. She later moved to N[...]
Who Was The First African American Female Makeup Artist In Hollywood? "I had to file a class act suit to do this because they just wouldn't let minorities in, it was a very hard industry to break no matter how hard you tried, you just couldn’t break it" // Bernadine Anderson has paved the way for a lot of makeup artists today. She was the first black female celebrity makeup artist. After working as an apprentice for three years at Warner Brothers, she went on to work with some of Hollywo[...]
Meet Designer Stephen Burrows Stephen Burrows was born on September 15, 1943, in Newark, New Jersey. He learned how to sew at a young age when he started making clothes with his grandmother. Realizing that fashion was something he wanted to do, he attended the Philadelphia Museum College of Art but later he went to New York City to study at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). After graduating from FIT in 1966, he began making clothes for the O boutique that he'd co-founded along with[...]
Meet Designer Patrick Kelly Patrick Kelly was born on September 24, 1954 in Vicksburg, Mississippi. His interest in fashion came at a young age, Patrick's earliest recollection of his love for fashion was when he was about six years old. One day after his grandmother brought home a fashion magazine, he noticed that there were no pictures of African American women in it. His grandmother explained that designers did not have time for African American women and he was determined to change this.[...]
Meet Designer Marc Hare Marc Hare was born in July 1970 in Croydon, South London. He attended London’s College of Fashion where he majored in Business studies and after graduating he worked in Public Relations. Over the next twenty years, he worked as a design and marketing consultant for some of the world’s top leading fashion labels before starting up his own brand in 2009. He decided to launch his own brand after the realization that there were not enough shoes that he liked. In 200[...]
Meet Designer Patrick Robinson Patrick Robinson was born on September 8, 1966, in Memphis, Tennessee. He grew up in Orange County, Los Angeles. While in high school he worked part-time at Nordstroms at the Cerritos mall. Patrick’s first attempt in fashion was when he created his own small line of beach wear, inspired by his love for the surfing lifestyle. His love for fashion stemmed from a movie he saw that featured American designers Calvin Klein and Jeffrey Banks. After graduating fr[...]
Meet Designer Carly Cushnie Carly Cushnie knew that fashion was something she wanted to do, after high school she took classes at the Parsons outpost in Paris. She then moved to New York to enroll full-time at Parsons The New School for Design. While in her junior year, she met Michelle Ochs and the two quickly become close friends. While in school Carly interned at Oscar de la Renta working on ready-to-wear clothing. She was runner up for student designer of the year at Parsons, her friend Mic[...]
Meet Designer Jeffrey Banks Jeffrey Banks was born on November 3, 1955, in Washington D.C. He knew from an early age that he was going to be a fashion designer. "I was only 10 years old when I designed an Easter suit for my mother," he told Black Enterprise. "The dress was raw silk and it had a banana-colored, wool jersey coat that buttoned to one side. I picked out the fabric, went to the dressmaker with my mother, and even picked out the accessories. She loved it and wore it with lots of pri[...]
Meet Designer Martine Rose Martine Rose is a London-based designer who originally started her career by designing unisex T-shirts with her friend Tamara under the label LMNOP. They showcased their debut collection of 10 shirts at Blacks, a private members club in Soho 2007. LMNOP was doing well and had a huge following, but Martine decided to go solo and start her own brand. Her main focus was on shirts and gradually she started to branch out into other aspects of menswear. Partnering with[...]