Reshaping the African-American Image by Linda Morand

Sixties Historical Preservation Project

The Ultimate Visual History of Modeling in the Sixties

Special Thanks to Barbara Summers Skin Deep: Inside the World
of Black Fashion Model for pictures and information

TO THE HEADSHEETS
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OVER 300 ALBUMS
of the 60's Top Models

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Beverly Johnson, Louise Vyent ,Iman

Tribute to the Great African
American Models of the 50's
60's and 70s

Maria McDonald

Alva Chinn

Pat Evans with Isaac Hayes

Click any image to enlarge

Reshaping the African American Image
by Linda Morand

Ophelia DeVore is internationally recognized as the Pioneer
Advocate of Positive Image for People of Color. She began
her constructive image crusade in the Forties in New York City
using the modeling profession, which was in its infancy.
DeVore began modeling at the age of 16. As a fair-skinned
African American, DeVore "passed" for Norwegian and
secured several lucrative modeling contracts throughout
Europe. In 1946, determined to create a new market for other
non-White women in the U.S., Madame DeVore founded The
Grace Del Marco Agency. In the agency's early days, it was
a springboard for numerous household names like Diahann
Carroll, Helen Williams, Richard Roundtree, Cicely
Tyson and others. Racism was rampant in New York’s fashion
business and the Grace Del Marco Agency was one of the
few places non-White models could get work.

Since its inception in 1945, Ebony Magazine has glorified the
beauty of the Black woman, and Fashion Fair Cosmetics
was founded in 1973 to cater to women of color who had been
virtually ignored by White companies. Ebony insisted that
advertisers use Black models in ads targeted at reaching
Black consumers. By the mid 1950's, Black models were
making cautiously optimistic inroads into mainstream print ads
and television commercials. One prominent model was
Barbara January, who posed for cigarette ads and other
national ads. She was very beautiful; light skinned and had
Caucasian features. With skin her luminous shade of milky
caramel, Dorothea Towles is generally credited with being
the first successful Black mannequin, appearing in various
fashion shows. Another popular cover girl was Sara Lou
Harris, who was often seen in Jet magazine. The elegant and
stunning Helen Williams was one of the most beautiful
models of all time, Black or White. Her classic image was seen
in many national ads, mostly geared to the African American
population, but some mainstream clients began to hire her for
their ads.

As a student at Sarah Lawrence College in the early 1960s,
striking and unusual Norma Jean Darden went to an open
call for models for the college issue of Mademoiselle. Superbly
dressed in a smart suit, a red coat and patent leather shoes
she arrived at the open call with a sheaf of beautiful photos in
her hand. However, she was met by rudeness and bigotry.
The secretary told her "Deliveries are at the back entrance."
Nevertheless, Darden was unwavering in her pursuit of a
career and over the years, she overcame such prejudice to
grace the pages of dozens of fashion and beauty magazines,
including Mademoiselle. Now she owns a chain of
restaurants in the USA.

At that time, beautiful Bethanne Hardison, the ageless and
legendary modeling agent, was working in the garment District
of New York City. One day she was delivering a dress to
Bernie Ozer, the head of merchandising for junior dresses at
the Federated Stores. Almost as a joke, she said that he
should put her in one of his fashion shows because she was a
trained dancer and loved to entertain. To her surprise, he
agreed and she went on to a celebrated career as a runway
model. She became the muse to designer Willi Smith, who
was inspired by her beauty and energy and they nurtured
each other's talent and creativity.

According to the renowned fashionista, Corey Grant Tippin,
the first major American designer to really give black girls a
leading role in modeling his collections was the Argentine
born, Giorgio de Sant 'Angelo. Giorgio loved the exotic and
ethnic and was very generous in hiring virtually unknown
models of color to present his designs in fashion
extravaganzas. Along with fellow designer Steven
Burroughs, Giorgio's shows were composed of some well-
known faces, but the majority of girls that they employed were
the lesser-known dark beauties of the day. Amina Warsuma,
Ramona Saunders, and stunners such as Scorpio and Pat
Evans, were some of the girls that demonstrated their unique
runway presence and arresting style to the buyers of Seventh
Avenue Fashion.

Europe had historically held a welcoming and encouraging
promise of success for African American People. Such was
the excitement generated during these presentations that
European designers, eager to get an injection of the New York
phenomenon, quickly took up the practice of booking the new
influx of black models that were migrating overseas.

"In 1968 the fashion capital of Europe was Paris. And it was to
Paris that the two beautiful Carols, Hobbs and La Brie found
true success." Corey Tippin told us. "Carol Hobbs was
working as a waitress in the downtown hotspot, Max's
Kansas City. This bar and restaurant was a Mecca for the
hip artists, photographers and their models that personified
the current vibe of the city, Repeatedly encouraged by the
successful professionals who were patrons of the
establishment, this beauty grabbed her portfolio of test shots
and boarded a plane to France. The results speak for
themselves. The striking black & white shots of the two Carols
shot for Essence magazine, in the grey Paris light of the
Louvre courtyard are among my favorite work of the
celebrated German photographer Helmut Newton."

Mary Alexander

Sara Lou Harris Dorothea Towles Ophelia DeVore

Helen Williams

Barbara January

Naomi Sims, Elizabeth of
Toro, Madelyn Sanders &
Avis McCarther

Darnella Thomas

Harriet Marshall

Norma Jean Darden

Models of the "Black Beauty" Agency 1969

Donyale Luna

Charlene Dash

Naomi Sims

Toukie Smith
courtesy Mao Magazine

Charlene Dash

Jennifer Brice

The Donyale Luna Story

Child of the Moon

In 1965 under pressure from the civil rights movement, ad
agencies and fashion houses had begun using more African-
American models. However, it was not until 1969 that they began
to have some crowning successes in the mainstream media.
Donyale Luna was the first major African American fashion
model, the earliest Black cover girl and widely accepted as the
first African American Supermodel. Donyale's star was without a
doubt one of the brightest in the fashion world of the Sixties. She
set the fashion world on fire with her brilliant sparkle, charisma
and her dynamic passion for life. She seemed to enchant all those
who came into her magnetic field. She has been described as
wild, singular and untamable, a true Diva. When asked from
where she hailed, Luna, as she was she was universally called,
would declare, "I'm from the moon, Baby!"

Her arrival in New York in 1964 had magazine editors and
designers competing to book her. According to The New York
Times, she had an exclusive contract to the prominent
photographer Richard Avedon for a year at the start of her
career. She was featured on the cover of "Fashions of the Times."
In 1964, French designer Paco Rabanne structured his fashion
show in the USA using only black models. For Rabanne, a fashion
futurist, Luna was an ideal representative to show off the contrast
between the coldness of the metal used in his dresses and the
warmth of youthful black skin. Dazzling Luna stole the spotlight at
countless fashion shows. Sometimes she would crawl like a
panther or lie down and roll down the runway. These capricious
antics would cause an international uproar among photographers
and fashion editors and her fame continued to escalate.

Donyale made history in March 1966 when she became the first
African American model to grace the cover of British Vogue.
Earlier, a sketch of her had appeared on the cover of American
Harper's Bazaar. When asked about the exotic Luna, Pat
Cleveland was quoted as saying, "She never wore shoes.
Wherever she went, she would arrive in bare feet. She was so
beautiful that people would stop eating if they were in a restaurant
if they saw her walking by."

In April 1966, Time magazine published an article entitled “The
Luna Year”, describing the spectacularly tall and slender model
with her trademark bright blue contact lenses and intermittent
blond wigs as “a new heavenly body who, because of her striking
singularity, promises to remain on high for many a season." In
1967, the mannequin manufacturer, Adel Rootstein, created a
mannequin in Luna’s image, a follow-up to their legendary Twiggy
mannequin of 1966. She was undeniably the hottest model in
Europe when she was 20 years old. With a look that is as
significant today as it was more than 40 years ago, Donyale
Luna remains one of America's greatest beauty icons.

Barbara Cheesborough

Pat Cleveland

Peggy Dillard

Jane Hoffman

Beverly Johnson

Naomi Sims

Iman: The Million Dollar Face

Barbara Smith

Carole LaBrie

Carole Hobbs

MODELS AS MUSES

Oscar de la Renta and friends
in his New York office in the
late ’70s. Clockwise, from left:
Jerry Hall, Billie Blair, Oscar
de la Renta, André Leon
Talley, Dalma, Pat Cleveland

Pat Cleveland(1972) with
designer Halston who loved her.
She was such a great theatrical
walker & runway diva that she
has worked recently even for Bill
Blass. Photo Credit:wireimage

CHARLENE DASH

AFRICAN
QUEENS

MOUNIA ON YVES ST LAURENT from W Magazine
"I was his first black muse...He helped open the door for black
models. Sometimes I was his confidante, and I would sometimes
inspire his creativity. He called me Moumounn. The collection that
made me a celebrity was the one inspired by Porgy and Bess. I wore
a pink pantsuit and a boater hat. I walked to 'Summertime' and
really took on the character of Bess. Catherine Deneuve stood up
and started clapping. The everyone stood up and called out 'Bravo!'
Yves Saint Laurent peered around the curtain - a thing that he had
never done before - to see what all of the commotion was about.
The people were shouting 'Bravo, Yves Saint Laurent!' and 'Brava,
Mouina!' He took me in his arms, and we kissed. This for me was
history...After that I had more than 15 covers...Mr. Fairchild gave me
my first cover [of WWD], and [French Vogue's] Francine Crescent
gave me 27 pages. This was the first time that a black model had
arrived in haute couture. I say thank you to Monsieur Yves Saint
Laurent and thank you to Monsieur Pierre Bergé. My last word for
Yves Saint Laurent is 'love.'"

By Linda Morand

One of the most fascinating African models was Princess
Elizabeth of Toro, the daughter of the late King of Toro, one
of the four kingdoms of Uganda. After receiving a law degree
from Cambridge University, she returned home to become a
government advisor. After a revolution in 1967, Elizabeth was
a virtual prisoner in her own country, until Princess Margaret
of the United Kingdom sent her invitation to model in a charity
fashion show. The East African Princess was a smash hit,
and soon became highly successful fashion model, being
featured in many magazines. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
met Elizabeth at a party, and convinced her to move to New
York City where she began to model for Irving Penn and
American Vogue. "My image is no longer that of a princess,
Elizabeth said. "I am a girl, a model." She appeared on the
cover of Harpers Bazaar in 1969.

Another captivating African model is Iman. Born in
Mogadishu, Somalia, fluent in five languages (Arabic,
English, French, Italian, and Somali), she studied political
science at the University of Nairobi. In 1975, she was
recruited as a model by American photographer, Peter
Beard and relocated to the United States. Her first modeling
assignment was for Vogue in 1976. The fashion designer,
Yves Saint-Laurent said, "My dream woman is Iman". She
recalls her experience as a house model for his African
Queen Couture collection as the most memorable moment
of her modeling career.

Her first modeling assignment was for American Vogue in
1976. Iman was an instant success in the fashion world,
becoming a muse for several fashion designers During her
14 years as a model, she also worked with many top
photographers, including Helmut Newton, Richard Avedon,
Irving Penn, and Annie Liebowitz. In an interview on
IQONS.com , Iman said, "I was not the first [African] model!
But I sure did break boundaries and open doors by being the
first black model to get lucrative advertising campaigns from
Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Valentino, Versace, YSL etc...."
Iman is now married to music icon, David Bowie.

Princess Elizabeth of Toro

Tamara Dobson
Courtesy Cocoa Lounge

Daphne Maxwell Joyce Walker Diane Washington

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Jolie Jones

Katiti Khironda 1968

Pat Cleveland on the runway

"Black is Busting Out All Over" Life magazine 1969
by Linda Morand

1969 was a banner year for models sporting Afro hair and very dark complexions. Life Magazine dedicated a 10-page article and to
cover to this most persuasive demonstration of Black Pride in a spectacular breakthrough modeling agency known as "Black Beauty".
The agency was formed in answer to the increasing demand of clients who began to realize that black was not only beautiful, but also
good for business. Photographers were very enthusiastic about the sudden proliferation of African-American models. "If you put a fairly
ordinary dress on a blond or a brunette not too much happens," said top Sixties photographer Irving Penn in a Life magazine article.
"Put the same dress on a black girl and it becomes something wonderful." Sensuous and lovely, Jane Hoffman appeared on the cover
of Cosmopolitan in June 1969, emerging as one of the first black models to achieve major international recognition in the 60's.

Fashion Superstar, Naomi Sims quickly rose to the pinnacle of the fashion world when she broke the color barrier in modeling
appearing on the cover of and in an article in Life magazine in 1969. The magazine also featured Charlene Dash who was one of the
top moneymakers for the prestigious Ford agency, appearing in numerous catalogs, print ads and TV commercials including Clairol.
Sims also appeared on the cover of fashions of the Times and German Cosmopolitan. Her career lasted over a decade. Today she is
head of a beauty empire. Another striking model who could be seen in the pages of major fashion magazines was Barbara Summers,
who went on to become a successful author and entrepreneur. She has written several books on beauty and fashion.

Tamara Dobson, a six foot two inch stunner, was also featured in the famous Life magazine article. Dobson plugged products for 25
television commercials in the early 1970s. It was almost impossible to see advertisements geared to black audiences that did not
include Tamara Dobson. She gave up modeling for a successful movie career.

In the Seventies, Black models embodied the essence of glamour, like amazing gazelles each with her own independent style. Once
they were incorporated into designers' inspiration, they were unstoppable. Yves Saint Laurent often said, "A black girl comes with
quality." Hubert Givenchy discovered the beauty of the black models and insisted that his entire show be modeled by them.

Teen-age magazines like Seventeen and Glamour began to employ African American models. Cute teen model, Daphne Maxwell Reid,
became a well-known cover model with the Eileen Ford Agency and the first black professional model to grace the cover of Glamour.
Other top models of color were Joyce Walker, who worked with top teen models like Colleen Corby and appeared on the cover of
Seventeen and Glamour. One of my friends was the beautiful American model known simply as Kellie, who lived and worked in Paris.
Sadly, she died very young. Pretty Jolie Jones, daughter of Quincy Jones, also appeared on the cover of Glamour and in the pages of
Seventeen as well as mainstream catalogs and ads. Her perky, clean-cut good looks sold millions of magazines. Many more great
black models come to mind, such as Jennifer Brice, Jany Tomba and Diane Washington, who was featured on Glamour's cover in
November 1970 and Kawanee, a famous model who went on to head a cosmetics company specialising in hair products.

A former nursing student from Flint, Michigan, runway Superstar, Billie Blair, wore her super short hair slicked back like Rudolph
Valentino, the 1930s Latin Lover. Her dark, dramatic eye make-up and her heavily lidded eyes made her look like a painting by
Modigliani. Billie's famous dance-like strut, together with her very dark skin and haughty carriage, made her New York's newest
superstar model. She commanded $400 a day, got offers from magazines as diverse as Mademoiselle and Ebony, and was a regular
star in the shows of Halston, Oscar de la Renta, Scott Barrie and Clovis Ruffin. "She is more like a starlet than a mannequin," cooed
her first employer Halston. "I love her walk, her fantastic body, her dramatic delivery."

Jamaican born Grace Jones, another personal friend of mine, began her long and illustrious career as a model in New York. Although
she was signed to Wilhelmina, one of New York's top modeling agencies, her androgynous style looks were too extreme for American
magazines, so she headed to Paris and began a career as an extremely successful model. Statuesque and strikingly good-looking, she
gained fame as a cover girl for such with-it publications as Vogue and Elle. As a singer, she wowed her fans with her intense
performances including wild animals and scantily clad male dancers.

Another one of the first women of color to enjoy worldwide recognition was American model Pat Cleveland. She was spotted at age
fourteen, while riding a bus, by a Vogue editor. She was renowned for her mischievous over-the-top poses and delicate, tippy-toe
ambling strut that she invented for the runway. She worked with Valentino, Oscar de la Renta and Yves Saint Laurent. In addition, she
was one of Halston's original models. She is still a sought after runway model today and is considered fashion royalty.

Striking The Last Blow To The Deep-Rooted Tradition Of Segregation
Beverly Johnson Appears on the Cover of American Vogue by Linda Morand

In the mid-1970s, stunningly beautiful Beverly Johnson became part of the trend where black models where considered hot, and some
say she was the most successful Black model of all time. She once said in a Newsweek interview, "I see the inspiration of Black
women being lifted up all over when they look at me and that's a super feeling." Johnson appeared on more than 500 magazine covers,
including other leading magazines such as Cosmopolitan and Essence. Her illustrious career was not restricted to print work. She was
a runway model for Halston, and appeared in many television commercials. She did a series of trendy in print ads for Virginia Slims
cigarettes and was a spokesperson for Avon cosmetics.

Then, in 1974, Beverly Johnson was the first African American to appear on the cover of American Vogue, a landmark event that helped
to enlarge the concept of feminine beauty, and to destroy the myth that White women would not buy a fashion magazine with a Black
model on the cover. Beverly again broke the barrier for the French edition of Elle, in 1975.

Her smooth and sculptural loveliness kept her at the vanguard of fashion photography for over a decade. .Johnson's success in the
1970s, however, transcended race. She signed with the Ford agency, and was one of the highest-paid models in the industry making
about $100 per hour for advertising work and $125 per hour for editorial modeling, phenomenal rates for that time. Johnson saw herself
as more than just a Black model. She told Ted Morgan in the New York Times Magazine, "I've been in the business for four years. There
is not a model, Black or White, who has done what I have done in such a short time. It's so, and I think I should say it."

Paris, France in late November of 1974 at the Palais de Versailles redefined the essence of fashion for the European market. The
American's had arrived. Halston, Oscar de la Renta, Steven Burroughs, Anne Klein, and Bill Blass had been invited to show their
current collections, along with the five reigning stalwarts of French Ready to Wear and Couture, for a benefit to raise money for the
restoration of the Palace. "Armed with an arsenal of such artillery as Billie Blair, Alva Chin, Pat Cleveland, Beth Ann Hardison, and
Amina Warsuma the American team was the secret weapon that disintegrated the existing stereotype of creaky fashion shows and the
runway spectacle was born", according to eye-witness, Corey Grant Tippin. "It was a moment that broke the international color barrier
and African American girls, once a minority, soon found themselves to be in the majority of established designers' Cabines."

As a leading model in the world of fashion in Seventies, Peggy Dillard was featured on the covers of international fashion and glamour
magazines, like Cosmopolitan, Essence, Ebony and Mademoiselle, becoming the second African-American woman to appear on the
cover of Vogue. By her senior year in college, Dillard had already made her mark in the North American, European and Japanese worlds
of high fashion.

Carol LaBrie, a former American go-go dancer was the first black model to grace the cover of Italian Vogue and became muse to
legendary fashion illustrator Antonio and designers Karl Lagerfeld and Kenzo.

Super Runway and fashion model, Pat Evans, became disillusioned with the modeling world and wrote a scathing article about the
Black Modeling world in a 1974 issue of Essence.

Toukie A. Smith was an African American model, the sister of late fashion designer Willi Smith and former long-term partner of actor
Robert Diniro, with whom she has two sons. Smith started her career in the 1970s as a model, working for such brands as Chanel,
Versace, Geoffrey Beene, Issey Miyake, Norma Kamali, Thierry Mugler, and Patrick Kelly. She also had a successful print career,
including a photo campaign for Yves St. Laurent as well as appearances in Vogue, ELLE, Ebony, Cosmopolitan, Redbook, and
Seventeen magazines. In 1978, Smith was named Bloomingdale's Model of the Year and became the second African-American model
to have a mannequin designed in her likeness. There were several more beautiful African American models that we were unable to find
any information about. We encourage readers to send us information and pictures so that we may add to this article.

Recently, top international photographer, Steven Meisel, used several beautiful African-American models for an entire issue of Italian
Vogue. The issue was such a success and sold out so quickly that they had to print more. Hopefully, this will set the standard and we
will be treated to more lovely images of models of color in the future.

Special thanks to Corey Grant Tippin. Patty Holmes and Susan Camp for their insightful participation, research and photographic contributions.

Jany Tomba

Home Economics Textbooks
Comparison: 1965 - 1969 (click to enlarge)

Barbara Summers

Grace Jones

Beverly Johnson 74

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TO THE HEADSHEET S
OVER 300 ALBUMS
of the 60's Top Models and
Designers

Pat Evans

Grace Jones

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Pioneers of Fashion Get Their Due

Kellie

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The late-60s high school Home economics textbook,
How You Look and Dress by Byrta Carson was very
forward-thinking and included pictures of popular teen
models and brands. That edition had Colleen Corby,
Cheryl Tiegs, Wendy Hill, Lisa Palmer, Joan Paulson,
Diane Conlon, Sally Murdoch, Kathy Jackson, all very
popular White models, But the most interesting aspect
of this edition is that professional Black models working
for major manufacturers (Simplicity, Avon , Sears,
Spiegel) were pictured.   Jolie Jones is on the cover
(along with Jill Twiddy)   Black girls were included in
most of the illustrations. This textbook focused on the
cultural and societal changes of high school girls in
1969.       Special thanks to Susan Camp

Yves St. Laurent
with Mounia