BLACK FASHION DESIGNERS CELEBRATED FOR FASHION MONTH (ZELDA WYNN VALDES)

A RARE GLIMPSE AT SOME HIDDEN FASHION FIGURES This designer you've never heard of was the go-to designer of the midcentury freakum dress, and made sure every Playboy Bunny's seam was pressed to perfection. Zelda Wynn Valdes A fashion designer who outfitted the glittery stars of the screen and stage. Zelda Wynn Valdes an iconic American fashion designer and trailblazing business owner. Zelda Wynn Valdes is considered the first African American fashion designer. Born in 1905, in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, she began her career in upstate New York, at her uncle’s tailoring shop in White Plains, New York. As a young woman, Zelda Wynn Valdes started working in her uncle’s tailoring shop in outer New York, while also working in a high-end fashion boutique as a salesgirl. In 1948, she opened her shop on Broadway in New York City, making her the first African-American to own a store on the highly coveted street. Zelda Wynn Valdes was known for creating gowns that fit perfectly- regardless of the shape of the wearer, Valdes could create a design that accentuated any woman’s body type. She became one of Hollywood’s most sought-after designers, creating dresses for Josephine Baker, Mae West, Ella Fitzgerald, Eartha Kitt, and the wedding of Maria and Nat King Cole. COPY & PASTE VIDEO https://youtu.be/gDXXpAuKxQw?si=L3w766COyXiPqk_H PHOTOS: Singer and actress Mae West in one of Valdes’ designs. Playboy Bunnies in line for costume approvals by Hugh Hefner himself in the mid 1960s.