black models

  • The Gap Gets It: In Its New Campaign, the Retailer Takes the Taboo Out of Breast-Feeding

    If you haven’t already, now might be a good time to fall (back) into the Gap. The American-based worldwide clothing-and-accessories retailer, long known for its diverse casting and fresh, fashion-forward campaigns featuring basics like jeans, khakis and tees, just gave us another reason to love it with a sweet and subtle nod to breast-feeding moms.…

  • Love, Italian Style: #BlackGirlMagic at Milan Fashion Week

    Black girls have been ruling the runways this Milan Fashion Week (Feb. 21-Feb. 28). Case in point: For the first time since Naomi Campbell’s opening strut back in 1997, Prada tapped a black model to open its fashion show (Jourdan Dunn is the only other black model to be booked by this global powerhouse brand…

  • Before She Was 2nd: Daphne Maxwell-Reid Broke Beauty Barriers

    Actress Daphne Maxwell-Reid is arguably best known for being second. Most remember her as Janet Hubert’s replacement in the role of Vivian Banks on the hit TV show The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. But Maxwell-Reid had groundbreaking firsts as a black woman: the 1969 cover of Glamour magazine, and homecoming queen at the prestigious Northwestern…

  • BNYFW: Xuly Bët Remains Mali’s Best-Kept Fashion Secret 

    Fashion designer Lamine Kouyaté has always drawn from his birthplace of Mali and all of Africa’s past to create designs for his label, Xuly Bët, that put him well ahead of the fashion pack. I first met Lamine Badian Kouyaté around 1990, when I walked his Paris runway shows. Staged at La Sarmarataine, one of…

  • BNYFW: Romeo Hunte Turns It Up

    Twenty-nine beautiful black models slayed every step of Romeo Hunte’s Fall/Winter 2018 runway. How could they not? The label cuts some of the best outerwear in the business. When you throw shearling jackets, fox-fur chubbies, trenches tiled with fur patchwork, PVC-detailed bombers and reversible raincoats over Black Panther-inspired Speedo wetsuits, finished off with fresh pairs…

  • NYFW: Christian Siriano Celebrates 10 Years of Loving Us Unconditionally

    Fashion designer Christian Siriano is one of America’s most beloved fashion designers. He first won our hearts with his memorable performances on Project Runway, where he threw shade like no other and cut his way to the top, one fierce and fabulous frock at a time. Now in his 10th year as head of his…

  • NYFW: Chromat Shows Us Diversity Is Body Beautiful 

    You cannot put Chromat designer Becca McCharen-Tran in a box. Diversity is not “a thing” for her—it’s life. As a child, she busted her dolls out of their boxes and made clothes and dollhouses filled with her own handmade furniture so that they could fulfill her own unique vision of femininity. Now in her 10th…

  • Getting Crafty: This Photographer Gives New Meaning to ‘Beauty on a Budget’

    A good photographer is a visual alchemist, capable of creating beautiful images even in less-than-ideal circumstances. But a group of photographers are taking their craft to the next level with the #UglyLocationChallenge on Instagram, choosing unconventional locations to create surprisingly lovely imagery. Our favorite? Florida-based model-photographer Adam Delane, who took the challenge to his local…

  • Your Black Barbie Could Never: Naomi Campbell Is Still #SlayGoals

    Fun fact: I work alongside a supermodel, and can tell you firsthand to believe the hype. They really are that preternaturally beautiful, have clearly never experienced inner-thigh chafing and seemingly possess some sort of vampiric-level knowledge of how to eternally slay. And I can’t even be mad because they’re so mesmerizing to look at. So…

  • 3rd Time’s the Charm: Designer Brandon Maxwell Believes in #BlackGirlMagic

    How about three delicious scoops of #BlackGirlMagic to sweeten your day? Designer Brandon Maxwell’s newly launched Spring/Summer 2018 advertising campaign, starring British model Jourdan Dunn and her surprise date, is a follow-up to his two previous and equally stunning campaign videos featuring models Riley Montana and Joan Smalls. Gorgeous clothes, perfect bodies and pretty faces…