Growing up I didn’t really see many Black women supermodels in fashion magazines. And trust me, I looked.
I would sit for hours at Barnes & Noble‘s searching. After picking out my next hairstyle in the Black Sophisticate’s and/or Hype Hair magazines, I would turn to fashion flipping through the glossy pages of Vogue, Elle, and Marie Claire scouring the style sections and couture campaigns.
I studied them because they were my gateway to labels and international fashion houses. Magazines were my masterclass.
No one in my immediate family wore labels like Louis Vuitton, Yves Saint Laurent, or Gucci. But these publications talked about them like household names and taught me their differences, signature looks, and historical context.
What these magazines didn’t do, however, was show me how I, as a Black woman, fit into this fashion story. The lack of Black models was painfully evident and often confused me. Frankly, it still does.
