Ebony Fashion Fair

Ebony Fashion Fair (also known as the Ebony Traveling Fashion Fair) was an annual fashion event created by Eunice Johnson, co-founder of Chicago-based Johnson Publishing Company. The show ran across the United States and some other countries from 1958 until 2009. In addition to the fashion fair, It also has a cosmetic line named Fashion Fair Cosmetics which was created in 1973. As of 2014, The Fashion Fair Cosmetics are still available for purchase.

History

The Ebony Fashion fair was founded in 1958 by Eunice Johnson and featured male and female models of mostly African-American descent modeling fashions from top European designers such as: Yves St Laurent, Oscar de la Renta, Pierre Cardin, Paco Rabanne, Givenchy, Jean Paul Gaultier, Valentino and Emanuel Ungaro.^[1]The show raised $55 million for African-American charities.^[2] The show ended after the 2009 fair due to the death of Eunice Johnson in January 2010.

Fashion Fair Cosmetics

In 1969, the Capsule Collection, a small make-up compact in mail-order package was created by Eunice and her husband John H. Johnson. Due to the high-demand of the compact, It led to the creation of the a full cosmetic line named Fashion Fair Cosmetics after the fashion show in 1973.

Legacy

In 2013, the Chicago History Museum held a tribute exhibition to the Ebony Fashion Fair titled Inspiring Beauty: 50 Years Of Ebony Fashion Fair. The exhibition, which ran from March 2013 thru May 2014 at the CHM, features several ensembles featured in the Fashion during its half-century history.^[3][4] The exhibition has been touring nationally since Fall 2014, with past and future stops including the Museum of Design Atlanta and the Milwaukee Art Museum.^[5]

References