I found this article about a model...Anyway, add anything you find that involves blacks and fashion. I'll add stuff I find.

I'm a visual person, so there won't be too much reading lol.

Black History Month with Fashion Bomb Daily: Donyale Luna Sponsored by African Pride

Long before Halle Berry, Jennifer Hudson, and Beyonce were covergirls, and before Naomi, Tyra, or Iman first set foot on a runway, there was Donyale Luna, the first black woman to cover Vogue and arguably the first African-American supermodel. Born Peggy Anne Freeman in 1945, the 6’2” stunner grew up in a troubled home in Detroit (her mother killed her father when she was 18), but left her past behind her once discovered by photographer David McCabe. She arrived in New York City in 1964 to much success, and was soon traveling the world, appearing in Paris Match, walking for Paco Rabanne, and appearing in several films. Of her success, she said, “Back in Detroit I wasn’t considered beautiful or anything, but here I’m different… They were looking for a new kind of model, a girl who is beautiful like you’ve never seen before.”

With long limbs, wide eyes (played up by blue or green contact lenses), and a regal stance, she attracted lots of attention. A 1966 article in Time Magazine called, “The Luna Year,” described her as, “unquestionably the hottest model in Europe at the moment. She is only 20, a Negro, hails from Detroit, and is not to be missed if one reads Harper’s Bazaar, Paris Match, Britain’s Queen, the British, French or American editions of Vogue.” Another profile of Luna underlined issues she may have had with her race. In a 1968 New York Times article, journalist Judy Stone said Donyale was, “secretive, mysterious, contradictory, evasive, mercurial, and insistent upon her multiracial lineage — exotic, chameleon strands of Indigenous-Mexican, Indonesian, Irish, and, last but least escapable, African.” When Stone asked her about whether her appearances in films would benefit the cause of black actresses, Luna answered, “If it brings about more jobs for Mexicans, Asians, Native Americans, Africans, groovy. It could be good, it could be bad. I couldn’t care less.”

Luna’s career continued on an upward trajectory for most of the late 60’s and early 70’s. In January 1965, a sketch of Luna appeared on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar. That same year she signed an exclusive contract with photographer Richard Avedon. In 1966, she appeared on the cover of British Vogue (she allegedly covered her nose as not to offend readers).

In 1967, Adel Rootstein fashioned a mannequin in Luna’s image. During that time she also appeared in several Andy Warhol films, starred in Italian film Salomé, portrayed a witch in Fellini’s Satyricon, and appeared in the Rolling Stones Rock and Roll circus. In 1975, she did a nude photo layout in Playboy. During this time, Luna also admitted she liked to use LSD, saying, “I think it’s great. I learned that I like to live, I like to make love, I really do love somebody, I love flowers, I love the sky, I like bright colors, I like animals. [LSD] also showed me unhappy things — that I was stubborn, selfish, unreasonable, mean, that I hurt other people.”

Drugs and unprofessional behavior eventually ended her storied career. Luna would show up late for casting calls, and sometimes wouldn’t show up at all. In a New York Times article, fellow pioneering super model Beverly Johnson said Luna, “doesn’t wear shoes winter or summer. Ask her where she’s from — Mars? She went up and down the runways on her hands and knees. She didn’t show up for bookings. She didn’t have a hard time, she made it hard for herself.”

Donyale died in Rome, Italy in 1979 at the age of 35 from a drug overdose. She left behind one daughter, Dream CazzaBrotha whom she had with Italian photographer Luigi CazzaBrotha.

Fashion: The Unsung Icons of Black Women’s Fashion

http://madamenoire.com/39118/the-unsung-icons-of-black-womens-fashion/

FLORENCE GRIFFITH-JOYNER

Florence Griffith-Joyner was known almost as much for her informal sense of style on the track as she was for her speed. Flo-Jo was once considered the “fastest woman of all time,” and in her short life (the athlete died at age 38 of an epileptic seizure) she set both world records in track and trends on the streets. Her overly-decorated nails, reaching up to six inches were her signature look. Multi-colored, polka-dotted and all, Griffith-Joyner showed her claws way before  other long-nail rocking athletes like Serena Williams tried to. Her one-legged leotards were also a point of conversation as one muscular leg, tense and riveting, would speed into first place covered in metallics. On top of showing a sickening work ethic to her sport, Griffith-Joyner made it her side hustle to show women how to let your own personality shine through your attire, work it and be able to win at the same time.

PAT EVANS

As if it weren’t already hard enough to be black in the late ‘70s, imagine the jarring criticism relayed to black women trying to set themselves apart in the modeling world. Many African American models got their start thanks to fairer skin and long straight hair, an attempt to promote European attributes, and to disguise African features. But while most conformed to the industry’s attempts to whitewash them, model Pat Evans decided to rebel against the status quo of fashion and assumed femininity by showing off her shiny chrome dome. Angered by the constant pressure to turn her fro into uncurving locs, and the lack of black representation in model management, Evans cut all her hair off. This move gained her more notoriety and even more bookings than ever before. The paradigm for black pride and confidence, Evans wore her bald head as a crown, accentuated by her audacious style, which included flowing dresses, furs, statement jewelry and feathered, dramatic eyelashes. She was so fine bald, the Ohio Players gave her a coveted cover on one of their albums.

DINAH WASHINGTON

Before Mary J. Blige, Lil’ Kim, Nicki Minaj and a slew of others threw on blonde wigs and dyed their manes gold to stand out, Dinah Washington showed ‘em how to do it right. Washington did a little bit of everything when it came to her music, as she was known by many as the “Queen of the Blues.” On top of trying an array of styles in blues and jazz, as well as trying a variety of men (eight times married), she also did many things with her hair. The blues singer used a spray formula to color her hair a darker blonde. The look, a massive change from her usual dark bouffants, garnered a positive response from fans and friends of the songbird, who praised her younger and more vibrant new look. Washington was one of the many forerunners of blonde locs and proved that the look can be just as intense against black skin as it can on fairer skin folk.

Edited by femmefatale85 - Feb 03 2011 at 9:40pm

Fashion: The Unsung Icons of Black Women’s Fashion

http://madamenoire.com/39118/the-unsung-icons-of-black-womens-fashion/

LAURYN HILL

Natty dreaded or hair twisted up, afro puff or dookie braids from her Sister Act 2 days, Lauryn Hill has always been a trendsetter. Whether she was standing out from her male counterparts in the Fugees rocking beanies, puffy coats, hoops and dark lipstick, or giving meaning to neo-soul style through eclectic prints and longs skirts, L.Boogie has quietly changed music and black women’s sense of style. Never too over the top, sexually that is, her attire always had an air of class, and sophistication when topped with a pair of thin frames to help her read her many acceptance speeches. Her makeup was always flattering, her eyebrows, to die for. And what can you say about her love for idiosyncratic platform heels and jewelry? While her approach to clothing has taken a somewhat dark, or dare I say, “tacky” turn as she’s come out of reclusion, we can always remember the days, at her peak in the late ‘90s, when Hill helped us love ourselves, think a bit higher and dress ourselves a little bit flyer.

AALIYAH

This isn’t one of those posthumous shout outs you give to people to appease their fan base or to help yourself sleep a little better at night. Rather, it’s stating pure fact: Aaliyah was the consummate trend setter throughout her entire career. To deny the fact that women bared midriffs, rocked men’s briefs, and Tommy Hilfiger like it was going out of style because of just a teeny bit of her influence would just be plain bogus. Why do you think people started wearing their bangs over one eye? Her style has influenced the likes of Ciara, Teyana Taylor and a great deal of others that ride the line between tomboy swag and sassy sexiness. Baby girl was a bandana baring chick, who liked oversized clothing and sneakers, but could steal the show in a gown at any given red carpet event. Now that’s a chameleon.

QUEEN LATIFAH

When Dana Ownes, or Queen, stepped on the scene in the late ‘80s with her towering hats, African inspired accessories and authoritative suits, she may have been a tad by our standards, but she took the fashion risks we’re missing out on today. Her look and her rhymes demanded respect, and her use of color and massively large accessories showed her style demanded it as well. She’s evolved tremendously since then and so has her clothing. We saw a bit more of the feminine side of Queen in her role as Khadijah James on “Living Single,” as the suits remained, but got softer, as well as the curls and coifs she rocked on the show. Today she is a plus size stunner in gorgeous gowns whether she’s at awards shows or hosting them. Plus, she makes us proud to be black women as the face of CoverGirl products, including her own Queen Collection for women of color.

EUNICE W. JOHNSON

Outside of taking the helms of _Ebony Magazine_ and starting the groundbreaking Ebony Fashion Fair, Eunice W. Johnson was a vision of respectable elegance when she wore her bright suits and ornate gowns. Johnson started producing Ebony Fashion Fair back in 1961, a popular traveling fashion show that helped establish black designers and help models get their foot in the door. And let’s not forget that cosmetics line! Cause if Revlon and Loreal’s products don’t get it by now when it comes to the shades of black folk, Halle Berry and Beyonce won’t make us feel better just cause it works for them. Having an innate sense of style that enabled her to dress her best, Johnson’s clothing was that of a businesswoman and innovator, as she wore furs and jewels that would make your cubic zirconia explode in envy. She is the embodiment of a fashion icon not only because she dressed so classic, but because she helped black women dress the same way and feel the same way due to her numerous successful business ventures.

Edited by femmefatale85 - Feb 03 2011 at 9:41pm

Black History Month with Fashion Bomb Daily: Pat Cleveland

With an electric smile, long limbs, and a whirling dervish of a walk, model Pat Cleveland took Paris and the world by storm in the late 1970′s. The Cherokee/Black/Irish gazelle was first spied by a Vogue Editor in 1967 at the age of fourteen on her way to Manhattan’s LaGuardia Performing Arts School. In a matter of years she was the toast of Paris, hanging with the likes of Karl Lagerfeld, Yves Saint Laurent, and Claude Montana.

Alicia Drake in the book The Beautiful Fall described Pat Cleveland’s arrival in Paris in the late 1970’s, saying, “[she came] with liquorice hair, legs like pipe-cleaners, and a Harlem shimmy dance-movement that recalled Josephine Baker…she [ate] up the catwalks with her shimmering sexiness and laughter, bringing a movement and dance to fashion that no one had ever seen before. ”

Pat, along with friends Donna Jordan, Juan Ramos, and Antonio Lopez set the city of lights ablaze with their energy and insouciance. Pat once said, “We came to Europe to show off and we did just that…the point was we came from nowhere. We came out of America like wild, crazy people. We had grown up with movies and movie star attitude and we were there to be stars, superstars. We wanted to shine day and night.”

And shine she did, stomping the catwalks for Oscar de la Renta, Stephen Burrows, Willi Smith, Valentino, and Chloé, and appearing in editorials for Vogue, GQ, Interview, Harper’s Bazaar, and more.



She, along with Karen Bjornson and Anjelica Huston, became one of Halston’s original models whom the designer affectionately called the Halstonettes. With her limber strut and electric energy, many called her a runway queen.


Pat eventually bowed out of the professional modeling world in the mid 80′s. Many of her friends had fallen victim to the AIDS epidemic and drug habits. She also fell in love with her current husband. She said, “I had someone to save me.”

Once a regular at Parisian nightspot Le Palace, she went to the club one last time to wave goodbye to her life as she had known it for so many years. As she told Alicia Drake, “I had on blue jeans, I had cut my hair. I was watching from the balcony down below on the stage…there were people swaying under drugs and André (Leon Talley) was there and he whispered to me, ‘You’re free now.’ I said goodbye to everybody…It was so hard to leave, but there was too much night, too many people dying.”

Pat still models from time to time, but spends most of her time with her two children and husband in New Jersey. Her daughter, Anna, has assumed her mother’s legacy, and now models for the likes of Zac Posen and Diane von Furstenberg.

great thread. first time hearing of Donyale Luna.