Eunice Johnson and Ebony Fashion Fair

1991

Ebony Fashion Fair promoted African American designers and celebrated Black beauty.

Entrepreneur Eunice Walker Johnson (1916–2010) founded the Ebony Fashion Fair in 1958 with her husband, John H. Johnson. Over its 65-year history, the Ebony Fashion Fair became a multi-city traveling fashion show that raised $55 million for charity. The fair featured Black models and Black fashion designers like Stephen Burrows, B. Michael, and Patrick Kelly. It also featured haute couture designers like Valentino, Pierre Cardin, and Yves Saint Laurent.

In 1980, the Johnson Publishing Company hired André Leon Talley as the New York editor of Ebony magazine. Talley produced fashion content and editorials for the magazine for a year.