Did you know about these iconic black women who revolutionized fashion?
Beverly Johnson
“My vogue cover really stood for something much deeper than a vogue cover in the modeling world. It’s good for the acceptance of black beauty in America. It was a huge statement for black America.” - Beverly Johnson
As one of the pioneers for women of color in the modeling industry, Beverly Johnson shattered the American ideal of beauty when she became the first African-American model to grace the cover of American Vogue in 1974.
Beverly’s appearance on the cover opened doors for the many other models of color who came after her, with nearly every mainstream fashion magazine taking steps to incorporate African-American women into their publications shortly after.
Naomi Campbell
Discovered at the age of 15, she established herself amongst the most recognisable and in-demand models of the late 1980s and the 1990s and was one of six models of her generation declared supermodels by the fashion industry and the international press.
Mounia Orosemane
In an interview with W Magazine in 2008, Mounia said, “I was [Saint Laurent's] 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. Then 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, Mounia!’ He took me in his arms, and we kissed. This for me was history."
Adut Akech
Adut Akech has become one of the industry’s faces to watch. She is a muse for Valentino's Pierpaolo Piccioli , has become a mainstay at global fashion weeks and has appeared on multiple covers for international Vogue September issues.
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