My Black is Beautiful is a Movement that celebrates the diverse beauty of African American women and nutures their self esteem. It was started by the company Proctor and Gamble and their commitment to celebrate the diverse beauty of African American women. During this time when positive black female role models are at a shortage, it is wonderful to see campaigns like this one. After my research it got me thinking about all the beautiful black women who have lit up, and are lighting up, the runways. Here are some old and new faces that have taken the fashion world by storm.
Beverly Johnson / Oct. 13, 1952 / Buffalo, New York / First Black Model to Appear on the Cover of Vogue/Owns the Beverly Johnson Hair Collection; a popular wig line/ Star of the reality series Beverly’s Full House on the OWN Network.
Chanel Iman/December 1, 1990/Atlanta, Georgia/At 16, won 3rd place in the Ford’s Supermodel of the World Contest/In 2007 after attending the MetGala, was named Vogue’s Second Best Dress of the Week Wearing a sleeveless Zac Posen Dress/Co Owner of Red Bag Boutique in Los Angeles, CA.
Naomi Campbell / May 22, 1970 / London, England / Involved with the charity causes The Nelson Mandela’s Children’s Fund, Breakthrough Breast Cancer, The Goodwill Ambassador for the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood
Jourdan Dunn / August 3, 1990 / London, England / 1st black model to walk a runway show for Prada in over a decade / 2008 ‘model of the year’ at the British Fashion Awards
Tyra Banks/December 4, 1973/Inglewood, CA/First African American women to grace to cove of GQ and Sport’s Illustrated and Victoria Secret’s Magazine Cover/In 2012 Tyra complete Harvard Busiess School’s Executive Education Training Program/Creator and CEO of Bankable Productions an independent film and television company.
Joan Smalls / July 11, 1988 / Puerto Rico / Currently ranked #2 model in the world / Famous for her legs and pout
Alek Wek/April 16, 1977/South Sudan in Africa/First African model to appear on the cover of Elle/Designs a range of handbags called WEK1933/She is a member of the U.S. Committee for Refugees’ Advisory Council.
Nyasha Matonhodze / July 31, 1994 / Zimbabwe / Finalist in the 2009 Elite Model Look competition / Famous for lips and skin / 2011 featured in Teen Vogue as a face to watch / Currently ranked 25th model in the world
Iman / July 25, 1955 / Mogadishu, Somalia/One of the first black supermodels / Became a muse for Halston, Gianni Versace, Calvin Klein, Issey Miyake, Donna Karan, and Yves Saint-Laurent. / Studied Political Science and speaks Somali, Arabic, English, French, Italian. In 2010 founded Iman Cosmetics; reportedly grossing $25 million a year.
