Black Pioneers of the Modelling Industry
Successful African-American, Black British and African Supermodels
Aug 28, 2009
In an industry still dominated by Caucasian women, a select few Black models have made an impact on runways and fashion magazines around the world and presented a different image of beauty.
Naomi Campbell
Since the late 80s, Naomi Campbell has been the highest profile Black supermodel in the world. Born to a single mother in England in 1970, Campbell was 15 when she was spotted by a modelling agent whilst window shopping in London.
She signed with Elite Model Management and her Jamaican and oriental looks (her father's mother was Chinese) soon got her featured in various high profile campaigns for the likes of Versace and Ralph Lauren. She was the first Black model to be on the cover of Vogue UK, French Vogue and Time magazine and was one of five models along with Claudia Schiffer, Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford and Linda Evangelista to first be labelled 'Supermodels' due to their huge earning potential.
"While [the other four models] graced more magazine covers than most of us have had hot dinners, Campbell, famously, and despite the fact that she was equally beautiful and as, if not more, high-profile, was pushed to one side... If the tide appears to be turning and more young black models are appearing in global campaigns today, then this is, at least in part, due to Naomi Campbell paving their way." ("Naomi Campbell: A Model of Privacy?" The Independent, February 2, 2002)
Tyra Banks
Before becoming a television personality, (America's Next Top Model, The Tyra Banks Show) Tyra Banks was a successful model.
Born in California in 1973, Banks began modelling at 15 after a classmate at her all girls Catholic high school told her she should try. With the help of her photographer mother, she submitted her portfolio to various agencies and was eventually signed by Elite Model Management who sent Banks on her first assignment to Paris, and in her first week there was booked for 25 shows, a record for a newcomer. She went on to work for the likes of Oscar de la Renta and Donna Karan and featured in advertising for major corporations including McDonald's and Nike.
In 1996 Banks became the first African-American woman to appear on the cover of GQ magazine, and in 1997 was the first Black cover model for both Sports Illustrated and Victoria's Secrets.
Since retiring from modelling in 2005, Banks manages her Bankable Productions television company. "When I was a model my biggest obstacle was that I was black and curvy. When I went into producing, my biggest obstacle was that I was a model. But...anybody who is at the top of anything has taken risks and withstood criticism and hardship."
Alek Wek
"I haven't seen anyone that interesting, that Black and that beautiful in a long time" said top fashion photographer Steven Meisel about Alek Wek, whose striking features are unique in the fashion Industry.
Born the seventh of nine children to a teacher father and social worker mother in Sudan in 1977, Wek fled the north African country with her family at 14 after a civil war broke out to join her sister in England. Four years later she was signed to Models One after being spotted at a London market, and soon got the attention of major fashion houses including Calvin Klein and Gucci who made her a regular on runway circuits. She also featured in magazines like i-D who voted her 'Model of the Decade'.
Wek is the only high-profile Black model with a distinctly African look and has became a symbol of diversity in the media: People magazine named her among its '50 Most Beautiful People' stating "few have her smile, and none have Wek's dramatically cropped hair, cherubic cheeks and flawless coal-black skin that has set the modelling world abuzz" and talk show Queen Oprah Winfrey said to her "If you had been there when I was growing up, I would have thought of myself as beautiful."
Wek also campaigns to raise awareness about her still war-ravished country and donates the proceeds from the Alek Wek 1933 luxury handbag range she designs and her autobiography Alek Wek: Sudanese Refugee to International Supermodel to her charities.
Iman
Iman was the first vision of African beauty the modelling world had ever known. Born to a diplomat father in Somalia in 1955, she was studying in Kenya when she was spotted by fashion photographer Peter Beard who admired her tall, slender figure and regal posture. He convinced her to become a model and took her to New York where she began a ground-breaking career that spanned the 70s and 80s.
Her first shoot was with American Vogue - the first Black model to appear on the cover - and she was soon courted by designers like Yves Saint Laurent who devoted an entire collection to her called 'The African Queen.' She was the first Black model to sign a cosmetics contract.
Iman quit modelling in 1989 and revealed how she struggled to find suitable makeup: "I was [at the Vogue shoot] and the make-up artist asked me, 'did you bring your own foundation?' I quickly learned why. When the pictures came out, I could see the foundation looked grey. I was a model for 14 years and had to constantly mix and match product for myself." She eventually produced a makeup range for women of colour in 1994 and is now the CEO of multi-million dollar beauty company IMAN Cosmetics, Skincare and Fragrances.
"[When I first arrived in America] I felt very isolated at first" she said. "A lot of white Americans would say, 'Oh, you must have some white blood in you.' Needless to say I am all Somali...then African-Americans also had this gripe about me because they did not think I looked African enough...I'm a black model, succeeding in a country that craves blonde, blue-eyed teenagers. I'm a survivor."
Sources:
- Tyra Banks: Banksable, The New York Times, June 1, 2008
- Iman: Iman Biography, Biography.com, 2009
- Iman and Alek Wek: Sisters in Arms, i.iman.com, Undated
See also: Black Pioneers in Medicine and Black Pioneers in Politics
 |
 |
 |
