African American Fashion
Becomes A Global Success!

When I saw this book on African American fashion at the library, I just couldn't ignore it! My love for fashion was too strong for that... I grabbed it and read it with a passion.

Inside the book I found powerful chapters describing the determination of Black women to strive in the fashion industry using Black models.

The author Barbara Summers, with a foreword by Harriette Cole, wrote "Black and Beautiful: How women of color changed the fashion Industry," a book on African American fashion that is absolutely delectable!

A Marvelous Breakthrough

Great change often has a defining moment, a particular space and time that people can actually point to and remember. For Black models that defining moment occurred at Versailles on November 28, 1973.

Never before in history had a group of African American fashion models -- En Masse -- strutted down a spectacular runway and into our memories.

The stage was set at the Opera House at the Sun King's Imperial Chateau. To honor the restoration -- in part financed by successful Americans -- of Louis XIV's three-century-old palace, five American Fashion designers had been asked to unveil their work along with five couturiers.

The French team consisted of: Pierre Cardin, Christian Dior, Hubert de Givenchy, Yves St-Laurent and Emanuel Ungaro. Their labels were synonymous with the "luxe, calme et volupté" of delicious fashions in exquisite fabrics designed for the world's most wealthy women.

The Americans -- Bill Blass, Stephen Burrow, Halston, Anne Klein, and Oscar de La Renta -- were well-known to the Fashionistas of the States, but not yet international names.

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A Real Fashion Competition

Even though there were five per side, the match appeared to favor the Europeans. They had home court advantage, after all. They had more experience and prestige in the marketplace.

Yet the times and women's lifestyles were changing and this included the African American fashion real women wanted to wear.

Sensible sportswear, elegant but easy-to-wear separates, clothing that suited the increasingly independent workingwoman triumphed.

Against all expectations, the Americans scored a fashion coup. As Women's Wear Daily, the fashion world's newspaper blared in its headlines: "Americans came, they sewed, they conquered."

Fashionable Quotes

The cover story on the "Battle of Versailles" began with this tactful rejoinder: "It's about time the Paris couture got a good kick in the tail -- and the Americans have done it," said André Olivier, designer at Pierre Cardin.

WWD then quoted other French couturiers on this African American fashion phenomenon:

• Bohan of Dior: "Perfect. Just the way it should be."
• Ungaro: "Extraordinary impact. I've seen those clothes in American stores but up there on the stage they had soul."
• Saint Laurent: "Fabulous... Stephen Burrow has a great talent."
• Givenchy: "There's no other way to described it than 'show business.' It moved so quickly. The black girls had such stage presence. We should have done more."

But it was not just a matter of doing more. Rather, there was a sense of being more. The AAfrican American fashion designers had a secret weapon that they did not fully realize: Black Women.

African American women were that extra push on the runway. Billie Blair, Alva Chinn, Pat Cleveland, Norma Jean Darden, Charlene Dash, Bethann Hardison, Barbara Jackson, Ramona Saunders and Amina Warsuma were some of the two dozen models chosen to wear the work of the African American fashion designers.

These women of all levels of color delivered their own special talents that day. According to one long-time fashion show director, they represented "spirit, energy, personality, music. The clothes were moving. Those Girls made that audience come alive. It was electric, exciting."

"The most dramatic moment came when Bethann Hardison stalked down the runway in a tight-fitting yellow silk halter by Burrows holding a floor-length train by a tiny ring on her pinkie," wrote reporter LaVerne Powlis.

"When Hardison reached center stage, she made a dramatic turn and haughtily dropped her train. The audience exploded in a frenzy of approval. They stomped, screamed and tossed their programs into the air."

Bill Cunningham, photographer and long-time chronicler of the fashion scene, wrote in the New York Daily News: "The bejeweled Paris audience was stunned by the showmanship of the black models from America (as well as with the no-fuss backgrounds and elegant wearability of the American sportswear) ... The Parisian aristocrats were both frightened and thrilled."

Fashion was never restricted to strictly Europe ever again. Black American models and African American fashion had arrived. They had transitioned over the previous 25 years from nowhere to some success, to worldwide attention. They could never go back now.

Norma Jean Darden added, "Stephen stole the show. People were just clapping for days."

Stephen Burrows, Designer

Stephen Burrows is the first African American fashion designer to achieve global recognition. Upon graduation from the Fashion Institution of Technology in 1966, Burrows began making clothing for the O Boutique, opposite Max's Kansas City in New York.

Burrow's window displays certainly stopped traffic, and the young designer was soon overwhelmed with orders. Along with close friend Roz Rubenstein, he presented a ready-to-wear collection for Bonita Teller in 1969.

Not long after, Joel Schumacher, Henri Bender's visual director (now film director), introduced Burrows to Bender's visionary fashion director Geraldine Stutz and he was soon hired.

Burrows credits his inspiration to music, dance, and the body, which all contributed to cutting-edge African American fashion that was luxurious, comfortable and stylish.

His influential designs made use of color and technique and were evolutionary at a time when European design houses strongly influenced American fashion.

The European clothes were very structured, heavy and lined. As stretch fabrics such as wool and rayon jersey came on the scene, Burrows designed a slim fit and body-conscious silhouette.

He introduced a finishing touch -- the "lettuce edge" -- that became his signature style and continues in the collection today. His designs became a basis for unique American fashion.

Stephen Burrows World

Stephen Burrows World opened at Henri Bendel in 1970, and pushed Burrows into the limelight. It was a resounding success. His client list included Cher, Diana Ross, Lauren Bacall, Liza Minnelli, Jerry Hall, Lauren Hutton, and Barbara Streisand.

He grabbed the industry's attention and Burrows was nominated for a Coty Award, fashion's greatest honor in both 1971 and 1972. Following his success in Versailles in 1973, which introduced color in ways never before seen on the runway, Burrows was awarded Coty Awards in 1973, 1974, and 1977.

Prompted by Halston to set up shop on Seventh Avenue, Stephen quickly left Henri Bendel and opened his fashion business, soon licensing various products such as fragrances, sunglasses and furs.

Encore Presentation

On February 13, 2002, "Stephen Burrows World" reopened in Henri Bendel with an event entitled "the party of the season" by Vogue. The collection has been lauded by the New York Times, the American, French and Japanese editions of Vogue, Essence, and the New York Magazine, to name a few. Burrows was then honored with a star on the CFDA's Fashions Walk of Fame on Seventh Avenue.

2006 signified Stephen Burrow's 40th year as a designer. In June of that year, he was handed the CFDA's Board of Directors Special Tribute Award. Currently, Stephen Burrows' fashion is available at the best stores in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East.

At "BURROWS IN PARIS" Stephen Burrows presented his Spring Summer 2007 collection in October of that year as part of the French Fashion Week. Suzy Menkes of "The International Herald" exclaimed, " He is the Master of matte jersey, and colour combinations!"

Inspirational Works of Art

Stephen Burrows is truly an African American fashion styling genius! And one never knows when inspiration will strike.

As with the two books that provided so much inspiration in writing this article, I feel that Barbara Summers is truly an inspiration for all women and I'm grateful to her and to Duane Thomas for enlightening people everywhere about how truly dynamic and powerful Black Women are.

I'm also grateful for how African American fashion has worked with African fashion, traditional African clothing and even African braids in so many delightful and fascinating ways!

• Thomas, Duane (2000). SoulStyle: Black Women Redefining the Color of Fashion. Universe Publishing. ISBN 078930466X
• Summers, Barbara (2001). Black and Beautiful -- How Women of Color Changed the Fashion Industry. Amistad. ISBN 006095812X.

Duane Thomas is a leading New York author and art director. A graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology, where he studied advertising and communications, he has contributed to Vogue, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Talk, In Style, Essence, O:The Oprah Magazine, and Esquire magazines, among others. His first photo book, Body&Soul: The Black Male Book (Universe), was published in 1998.

Barbara Summers is a talented, intelligent woman who grew up in Connecticut. She was a Ford fashion model for 16 years, a teacher, writer, editor, in short, a true artist, and a pioneer of African American fashion.

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