Black History Month – Fashion
Vogue Magazine, the leading fashion magazine in the world, added another notch in the timeline of fashion when Beverly Johnson in 1975 was the first African-American on its cover. The next year she repeated the distinction on the cover of Elle, France’s elite fashion magazine.
Beverly Johnson was not from an exotic world, but from Buffalo, N.Y. where she was raised by middle-class parents, became a champion swimmer in high school, and aspired to be a lawyer. While attending Northeastern University, to make money one summer, she went to several modeling agencies who turned her down until she got to Wilhelmina Agency.
She had heard that fashion models made a dollar a minute and in her case, it was much more. Her career continues today branching out to movies, books and charitable causes. Johnson broke the glass ceiling and opened the door for other African-American models.
Tyra Banks went through that door beginning when she was only 15 years old. The tall beauty was bullied in school, considered an ugly duckling for her lanky body and height. She was the first African-American woman to grace the cover of GQ Magazine and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Today, her estimated worth is around $90 million and she continues to expand her empire.
1st generation Jamaican and Panamanian immigrant’s son, Tyson Beckford, skyrocketed to the top of male fashion models when at age 23 he became the front model for Ralph Lauren’s Sportswear. He can be seen in movies, television, music videos as well as the runway. While in high school, students teased him about his looks.
Where there is fashion, there are designers. Virgil Abloh, artistic director for Louis Vuitton menswear, hails from a tongue-in-cheek fashion capital, Rockford, Ill. He also is first generation born to Ghanaian immigrants. He originally studied engineering and architecture, and became interested in fashion while designing tee shirts in college. He continues to expand into furniture design for IKEA through his Milan-based fashion company, Off-White.
Best known of fashion critics was raised by his grandparents, sharecroppers in Hayti, N.C., Andre Leon Talley, who until recently was Creative Director at Vogue. He was style consultant to many celebrities and for years graced the “front row” at fashion shows from New York to Milan. He attributed his love of fashion to his grandmother, Binnie Davis.
The thread of fashion runs through all these well known fashion icons and to think, there could well be another one just waiting to happen here in Jasper County, Georgia. Dream BIG.