Ebony fashion magazine

PERHAPS the best example of the continuing impact of Johnson Publishing Company on the fashion world is the Ebony Fashion Fair, which is the largest, most exciting and most colorful traveling fashion extravaganza in the world. For more than three decades, the show has been taking its million-dollar collection of designer fashions to predominantly Black audiences in hundreds of cities around the world.

In the process, Fashion Fair helped redefine Black beauty and pave the way for supermodels such as Naomi Campbell, Iman and Beverly Johnson.

Over the years, the show has made quite an impact on the fashion world in general, demonstrating that bright and brilliant colors look great on bronzeskinned models, and that Black women, regardless of income and background, have an innate sense of style and beauty. In recent years, fashion magazines and designers themselves apparently have begun to look favorably on brown-skinned and otherwise ethnic-looking runway and print models, and Ebony Fashion Fair takes credit for opening the doors and showcasing beautiful Black women for decades.

The show is coordinated by EBONY magazine and directed by Eunice W. Johnson, wife of CEO and publisher John H. Johnson. Sponsored locally by notable charities such as the Urban League, United Negro College Fund, NAACP, YWCA, National Council of Negro Women, and the various Black sororities and fraternities, the show has raised more than $38 million for worthy causes. However, the show is not a money-making venture for Johnson Publishing Co., though a small portion is deducted from each ticket sold for subscriptions to the JPC magazine designated by the ticket-buyer.

During this the 35th season, the show will visit 185 cities across the U.S., five of which have scheduled two shows due to demand for tickets. Also included on the current itinerary are shows in Canada, St. Thomas and St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Nassau in the Bahamas. On alternating years, the show travels to other Caribbean islands. More than 325,000 people attended the show during the 1991-92 season.

Originally presented in a few select cities, Ebony Fashion Fair initially was planned for the purpose of featuring lovely Black models in fabulous creations from world-famous fashion designers. The show's elegance caught the interest of the fashion-conscious public and its highly favorable reception prompted additional sponsor requests, which necessitated expansion of the show's tour to two seasons, fall/ winter and winter/spring.

The idea for the Ebony Fashion Fair show was conceived in 1956 when Jessie C. Dent, the wife ofthen-president of Dillard University, asked Johnson Publishing Co. to sponsor a fundraiser for the Women's Auxiliary of Flint-Goodrich Hospital in New Orleans. The first fashion show was such a success that the publisher, in consultation with his wife, decided to take it on a cross-country tour to benefit other worthy charities. During this era, most fashion shows in the Black community were organized for charity and presented in church halls, school gymnasiums and other multi-purpose neighborhood facilities.

In 1958, the late Freda DeKnight, then EBONY magazine's food and fashion editor, organized the first tour, which featured four models and presented performances in 10 cities. DeKnight was also the show's first commentator. Mrs. Johnson began producing the show in 1963, and it rapidly became the most talked-about fashion event in hundreds of cities across the United States.

Among the elements that set this show apart from other fashion shows is that Fashion Fair Director Johnson visits the most prestigious couture houses of Europe and the U.S. several times a year and personally selects the 200 ensembles--as well as accessories featured in the show. Considered among the world's best-dressed women and a respected style expert, she chooses garments that will entertain as well as enlighten the shows audiences, which include men and women of all incomes and professional backgrounds.

During the early years, some designers refused to sell their garments to Mrs. Johnson, but she persisted. As she became well-known in the fashion capitals, the designers began to look forward to visits from the stylish woman who often was accompanied by beautiful models. Today, Mrs. Johnson buys more couture designs than anyone in Europe. After viewing thousands of garments, she selects just the right mix of evening gowns, cocktail dresses, casual attire, swimwear and stylish suits to keep Fashion Fair's audiences applauding and returning year after year.

The creations of mega designers such as Yves Saint Laurent, Emanuel Ungaro, Pierre Cardin, Oscar de la Renta, Bill Blass, Christian Dior, Bob Mackie, Jean Louis Scherrer and Nina Ricci are regularly featured in the show. In addition, Mrs. Johnson alwavs includes creations from the leading Black designers, such as the late Patrick Kellv and Willi Smith.

The spirited show, choreographed to live music, features 12 female and two or three male models, who are chosen from hundreds of attractive young men and women who apply and audition each summer at Johnson Publishing Company's Chicago offices. And many former Ebony Fashion Fair models have gone on to gain success in show business and the media. Actors Richard Roundtree, Jorge Ben Hur and Edward Hatch started their careers as Fashion Fair models, as did actress Judy Pace, who appeared in a number of movies during the '60s and '70s. Former supermodel Pat Cleveland and newscaster Sue Simmons also are former Fashion Fair models. Mrs. Johnson says she looks for models who have a "flair for fashion, an innate sense of confidence."

And despite the stress and hard work that go into getting the show ready for the road year after year, Mrs. Johnson and the Ebony Fashion Fair crew bring energy and enthusiasm to every season's kickoff. "We still feel that high-pitched thrill of excitement each time the show hits the road for another season," she says.

COPYRIGHT 1992 Johnson Publishing Co.
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group