Next week, I will be back at #NYFW for my blog 55 Secret Street and, lucky me, my friend @Cozbi Cabrera is handcrafting a few of her signature pieces for me. Cozbi’s awesome boutique is in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn (and she’s having a great sale this weekend if you’re in the neighborhood). This is a first for me, but I realize that there was a time when you didn’t have to be rich and/or famous to get clothes made for you. Or to buy something you don’t see a hundred other people wearing. If you’re into fashion, I’ll have more at 55 Secret Street next week. That is me (bottom left) getting fitted by Cozbi for my dress (finished product in the middle). So exciting!
Pat Cleveland being fitted by designer Stephen Burrows in his East Village studio in April 1971. Burrows was a newly rising star in fashion at this time, especially after the opening of his boutique, “Stephen Burrows World” in Henri Bendel
Dorothy Dandridge being fitted for a gown by designer, Zelda Wynn Valdes in a photo from a 1954 issue of Hue. Ms. Valdes designed for Josephine Baker, Sarah Vaughan, Maria Cole (Mrs. Nat and Natalie Cole’s mother) and other celebs of the day before capping off her career by designing costumes for the Dance Theater of Harlem. I encourage you to pick up Threads of Time, The Fabric of History: Profiles of African American Dressmakers and Designers, 1850 to the Present by Rosemary E. Reed Miller for more information.
Pat Cleveland being fitted by Stephen Burrows.
Pat Cleveland was among the models and Stephen Burrows was one of the designers featured in the groundbreaking fashion show in Versailles on November 28, 1973.
Black Models Celebrated as Runway Revolutionaries (audio via NPR)
