Then: Eunice Johnson, founder of The Ebony Fashion Fair traveling fashion show. 

Now:  Brandice Henderson, Founder of Harlem’s Fashion Row.

 

Eunice Johnson (nee Walker) was a native of Selma, Alabama.  A graduate of Talladega College, she was working as a social worker when she quit her job to help her husband John, start a magazine focused on Black life.  He asked for her guidance in finding a name for that publication.  She chose Ebony because it means “fine black wood”.  The first issue of Ebony was published in 1947 and joined by the digest-sized Jet in 1951.

In 1958 Jessie Covington Dent, wife of Albert Dent, President of historically Black college Dillard University approached Mrs. Johnson with the idea of creating a mini-fashion show to raise money for Flint-Goodridge Hospital, then owned by the university.  This was the beginning of Ebony Fashion Fair (EFF).  Over the next 50 years non-profits such as The Links, Jack & Jill, sororities, fraternities, churches and sponsored EFF shows raising over $50 million for charity.  Of course, EFF spawned a thousand and one fashion shows in church social halls, but that is for another post.

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Attendees got to see Black models walk down the runway in couture designs. That was revolutionary. Richard Roundtree—Shaft, to the rest of us—and Pat Cleveland who later became a muse for Halston and Stephen Burrows walked the EFF stage early in their careers.

Here is the beauty of Mrs. Johnson and EFF:  she purchased most of the clothing featured on the EFF runways. This was a practical consideration since many designers did not want their clothing associated with Black people, and were loath to lend out their designs. Through the 1970s and 1990s her spending averaged $1 million a year. Of her own money. Wow.

Mrs. Johnson amassed one of the largest privately owned couture collections.  A portion of her collection was auctioned off in 2011 and 2012. Sixty outfits from her collection including works from Oscar de la Renta , Christian Dior, Stephen Burrows, Yves Saint Laurent, Patrick Kelly, and Christian Lacroix are on display at The Chicago History Museum’s exhibit “Inspiring Beauty: 50 Years of Ebony Fashion Fair”, running from March 16,2013 through January 4, 2014.

 Brandice Henderson

Brandice Henderson, a Memphis, TN native launched Harlem’s Fashion Row (HFR) in 2007. According to her bio, “Brandice moved to New York City with 12 years of experience in fashion including a background as a buyer and production manager, the passion was clear, but producing a fashion show was not on the resume or in the plans.

The idea to produce a fashion event in Harlem came to her in May of 2007 while at a fashion show in Brooklyn. She then began to plan. The show was brought to life 3 months later in August of 2007 with the help of 20 volunteers that believed in the vision of HFR. The show she dubbed, Harlem’s Fashion Row was a hit and she had found her calling.”

HFR’s mission is developing and showcasing emerging designers of color. HFR hosts runway shows, designer incubators and pop up shops featuring the designers within the collective. They also provide perspective and knowledge on navigating the fashion industry. A recent shining moment:  HFR celebrated its fifth anniversary with a show at Jazz at Lincoln Center during Fall 2012 Fashion Week.

HFR introduced their recent crop of seven designers to the public on February 7, 2013 during Fall/Winter 2013 Fashion Week in New York City.  The venue?  The legendary Apollo Theater.

Check out AOL/Huffington Post’s video series on Brandice and the creation of the 2013 fashion show: