Hidden Histories, Fashion Modeling: Remembering Black Models

Hidden Histories, Fashion Modeling: Remembering Black Models

Stephanie Williams

History 538 Dr. Jill Watts

Hidden Histories, Fashion Modeling: Remembering Black Models African-Americans have faced widespread racial oppression in the United States in entertainment industries such as athletics, music, movies, television, and modeling. Often we hear stories about famous models from the past such as Twiggy, Marilyn Monroe, and Audrey Hepburn among others. Black women have long influenced the modeling industry in the United States, and the names of these pioneering models need to be recognized and remembered. Three Black women instrumental to modeling history are represented in this mini digital exhibit.

Remembering Ophelia DeVore, Charlotte ‘Fabulous’ Stribling, and Donyale Luna.

Ophelia DeVore August 12, 1922-February 28, 2014

Ophelia DeVore was born in Edgefield, South Carolina on August 22,1922.

DeVore graduated from the Vogue School of Modeling in New York, and “became one of the first African American models in America in 1938 at the age of sixteen.”A biography about Ophelia DeVore states “in 1946, with the help of four friends, she founded the Grace Del Marco Modeling Agency and in 1948, she opened the Ophelia DeVore School of Self-Development and Modeling.” DeVore was a pioneer in the modeling industry and the African American community participating in several other business ventures, she “has received more than 200 awards and honors from corporate, political, educational, governmental and social agencies.” Ophelia DeVore needs to be recognized and remembered.

Charlotte ‘Fabulous’ Stribbling 1925-May 01, 2006

Charlotte Stribling was born in Mississippi in 1925. In 1950 Stribling was a catwalk model in Harlem, when the famous photographer Eve Arnold made arrangements with modeling agent Edward Brandford to visit the “Abyssinian church to see his star performer Charlotte Stribling, aka “Fabulous”, stride the catwalk.” Arnold was known for catching candid shots of models and performers in their most natural moments. When she arrived at the church, she headed backstage to capture photos of models including Stribling. This photo of Charlotte ‘Fabulous’ Stribling was taken in the Abyssinian church by photographer Eve Arnold. Charlotte ‘Fabulous’ Stribling needs to be recognized and remembered.

Donyale Luna August 31, 1945-May 17, 1979

Peggy Ann Freeman was born in Detroit, Michigan on August 31, 1945. As a teenager, Freeman changed her name to Donyale Luna. In 1964 shortly after the Civil Rights Act was passed, Luna was recognized on the streets of Detroit by photographer David McCabe. When he first noticed Luna McCabe says, “She was so tall, and so slender, and had the most incredible bone structure.”

In little time, Luna became a star breaking headlines with her face shown on the cover of magazines such as Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue. A famous model beginning her career in the United States and later in Europe, Luna lived a short life due to drug complications. In an article remembering Luna forty years after her death, her daughter says, “I couldn’t accept that her pioneering work remained forgotten: how could I help her be remembered the way that she deserved?” Donyale Luna needs to be recognized and remembered.

Bibliography

Ophelia DeVore Image Pan-African News Wire. “Ophelia DeVore, 92, Famed Model, Businesswoman, Dies.”

Pan-African News, March 11, 2014. http://panafricannews.blogspot.com/2014/03/ophelia-devore-93-famed-model.html Description The History Makers. “Ophelia DeVore: Biography.” The History Makers, The Nation's Largest African American Video Oral History Collection, March 14, 2016. https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/ophelia-devore-41

Charlotte ‘Fabulous’ Stribling Image Magnum Photos. “Eve Arnold.” Magnum Photos, Accessed October 18, 2020. https://www.magnumphotos.com/photographer/eve-arnold/ Description Harison, Martin. “Fashion: Black to the Future.” Independent, April 21, 1996. https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/fashion-black-to-the-future-1306098.ht ml

Donyale Luna Image Arogundade, Ben. “The Tragic Tale of Donyale Luna.” The Telegraph, November 11, 2012. http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/news-features/TMG9658276/The-tragic-tale-of-Donyale-L una.html Description Arogundade, Ben. “The Tragic Tale of Donyale Luna.” The Telegraph, November 11, 2012. http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/news-features/TMG9658276/The-tragic-tale-of-Donyale-L una.html Cazzinga, Dream. “Remembering Donyale Luna, The First Woman of Colour Ever to Appear on the Cover of Vogue.” Vogue, April 19, 2019. https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/donyale-luna-model-vogue

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