Black History Month with Style Society: Eunice Johnson

When I think about black women who are trailblazers in fashion there is one person that always comes to mind, Eunice Johnson. Producer and director of the world's largest traveling fashion show, Eunice Johnson broke style barriers for blacks everywhere with the Ebony Fashion Fair creating a new couture runway for our community.

The Fashion Fair flourished into an annual show, bringing designs from New York, Paris and Milan, where she traveled herself to persuade designers to include their collections in her shows."She was the pioneer who created the awareness to designers that not only should we be in your shows, but can be in your clothes." says celebrity stylist June Ambrose.

"She exposed Black Americans to a world they would not have seen without Ebony Fashion Fair at the time. It was a chance to see what was happening outside of the United States because they showcased a lot of Italian and French fashion..." - Stephen Burrows.

Eunice Johnson died at age 93 on January 3, 2010 and was honored at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art for her work in fashion.  Her legacy as a fashion pioneer and the runway she paved that unites all people in fashion will never be forgotten.

{sources Ebony Magazine, www.ebonyfashionfair.com}

Black History Month with Style Society

Today is the first day of February and this month is not only the month for love but it is Black History Month. I wanted to do something special this year to celebrate.

This week I would like to feature Naomi Sims. A true trailblazer of the catwalk, she was the first black model to be on the cover of Ladie's Home Journal in 1968. In her attempt to break through the barriers of racism in here career she decided to sidestep modeling agencies all together. Sims sought out fashion photographers and negotiated ways to work with them directly to give herself the exposure she needed. Gosta Peterson, photographer for the New York Times, agreed to photograph her for the cover of the paper's 1967 fashion supplement. 

With the help of former model Wilhelmina Cooper, who was starting her own modeling agency, Sims was able to get more work. Cooper would send out copies of the New York Times supplement, with Sims contact information attached, to different advertising agencies. Soon after Sims achieved worldwide recognition as a model covering prestigious fashion magazines. This was all during the time of the "Black is Beautiful" movement which eventually helped pave the way for other black fashion models in  the 1970s like Pat Cleveland and Beverly Johnson. 

In 1973 Sims retired from modeling and started her own wig line that eventually expanded into a mulitmillion-dollar beauty empire.  Naomi Sims died in 2009 losing her battle to breast cancer. She is truly missed. 

To read more about Namoi Sims click here