Meet 10 Black Icons Who’ve Shaped Fashion History

Melissa Chataigne: “André was a true living encyclopedia of fashion—who also pushed the field forward in so many glorious ways. He helped craft the Obamas’ style, elevated TV shows from Top Model to Tamron Hall Show, and was Anna Wintour’s backbone at Vogue for many years. Without André, who knows if we would have had legends like Pat Cleveland, Beverly Johnson, Naomi, Tyra Banks, or Lindsay Peoples Wagner? Certainly, there would be no place for me on television.

I love this interview by Washington Post critic-at-large, Robin Givhan, about André’s life and career. It’s all-encompassing and beautiful, like his greatness.”

MC: “Ann Lowe was one of the first high-end African American fashion designers—and she dressed all the high society women, from the Roosevelts to the Rockefellers. Lowe is also responsible for designing one of the most famous wedding dresses in history: The gown Jacqueline Bouvier wore when she married JFK. (She designed the wedding party’s dresses as well). Shamefully, Lowe didn’t receive proper credit for her contribution to fashion history until years later.”

MC: “Before Elizabeth Keckley became Mary Todd Lincoln’s personal dressmaker, she was enslaved by a family in St. Louis. After buying her freedom, Keckley established herself as a skillful seamstress for the most influential women in Washington D.C., as well as a civil activist and author. What is most interesting is that people either claim that Keckley and Mrs. Lincoln were very close—or that Keckley was miserable. We will never know.”

MC: “As the first Black designer of French couture, Jay Jaxon worked in esteemed Parisian fashion houses like Yves Saint Laurent and Dior, creating both couture and ready-to-wear. From the streets of Paris to Hollywood’s Walk of Fame to his native New York, the Queens-born fashion designer left his mark; a traveling exhibition by his posthumous biographer, Rachel Fenderson, ensures many more will know his name.”

MC: “In 1973, American and French designers went up against each other in the dramatically named ‘Battle of Versailles’—a fashion event so major, Donna Karan attended only as an assistant. If you watched the Netflix film Halston, you might have noticed that there was only one Black designer in the midst, Stephen Burrows. Burrows, a classmate and contemporary of Jay Jaxon, went on to become the king of ‘70s fashion (Cher and Diana Ross were fans), and the first African American designer to capture international fame under his own name.”

MC: “I could not make this list and not include Ms. Tracy Reese, who has been a Board member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) since 2007—and has been holding the door open for Black designers for even longer. Reese specializes in women’s ready-to-wear clothing, accessories, and home fashions, with a specialty in slow fashion. In this short piece, she offers great advice to other designers looking to pave their way in the industry.”

MC: “When someone close to your age dies, you always reflect on your own mortality. I’ve always admired Virgil Abloh as he, like me, was raised by immigrant parents in Illinois, attended a Big Ten School, and switched careers to fashion. Virgil rose through the ranks, surpassing barriers of color and class, to be the first Black artistic director of Louis Vuitton’s menswear line—and CEO of his own label, Off-White. His impact on the world through fashion, art, and culture will be forever felt, especially as he fought to make space for people of color in the fashion world. His untimely death is a reminder that we must create, love, celebrate, and live a #lifewellstyled. Here, watch one of my favorite interviews of Virgil as he describes how he manifested his rise.”

MC: “Grace is the breath of fresh air fashion needed. This Jamaican-Brit is a force devoted to changing and elevating the way we get dressed. She manages to bring art, activism, and music to her work, treating fans to poems and Solange performances at her fashion shows, and incorporating the work of Black writers from James Baldwin to Ishmael Reed into her designs. Though Grace is newer to fashion than many on this list, her devotion to lifting those around her—fashion industry people or not—is notable. I think it’s safe to say that she’s the future of Black fashion.”