// Naomi Campbell doesn't plan on retiring anytime soon. In my eyes Naomi Campbell is one of the greatest models to ever walk a runway. I recently watched a video, where she spoke to Nick Knight about racism in the fashion industry and the reason she refuses to retire. She’s unhappy with the continuous lack of racial diversity in the fashion industry. Naomi continues to make appearances on the runway because she feels she still has to represent for women of co[...]
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[...]
// // ]]> Beverly Johnson was the first black model to cover American Vogue on the 1974 August issue and French Elle a year later, becoming the first black model to cover both publications. Beverly got her start after landing a job with Glamour magazine, soon after her career begins to take off. Johnson signed with the Ford Modeling Agency and was one of the highest-paid models in the industry in a very short period of time. She has walked the runway for such designers as Yves St. Laurent,[...]
Vogue Italia was the first Fashion magazine ever to print an issue featuring only black models, which hit news stands in July 2008. On the cover were models Liya Kebede, Sesilee Lopez, Jourdan Dunn, and Naomi Campbell in which they were all featured in the fold-out, photographed by Steven Meisel. The magazine featured topics related to black women in the arts and entertainment. Some of the models who were photographed for this issue were Alek Wek, Alva Chin, Arlenis Sosa Pena, Chanel Iman, Gail[...]