This Is What It Was Like to Break Into Modeling as a Woman of Color in 1969

In October of 1969, a LIFE Magazine cover story explored a noteworthy change underway in the fashion business: women of color were not only more visible than ever as models, but they were also taking charge behind the scenes. In one of the first salvos of a conversation that is still very much ongoing — about how to bring diversity to the fashion world, and why that matters — the women featured in the story were working toward a future where, as the director of one agency put it, "a model agency gets a call for a brunette and can just send over a black girl."
At the time, though progress was still being made, black models still made less than white models simply because they got less work, and per LIFE in 1968 less than 10% of all TV commercials in the U.S. involved any black people at all. And yet, for those on the front lines of change, it was an exciting time — at least that was the experience for Charlene Dash, then 20, one of the models featured in the story (and seen in slides six and seven above).
Dash, who went back to school after quitting the modeling world and ended up getting her master's degree, now lives near New York City and works for the Department of Education. For women's history month, she told LIFE what it was like to live through that time:

Yorumlar

Yorum Gönder

Bu blogdaki popüler yayınlar

Read a Rare Alexander Hamilton Love Letter to Elizabeth Schuyler

Resim
In a world in which some people are willing to shell out up to  $1,300  for tickets to see  Hamilton  on Broadway, it is perhaps unsurprising that interest in the  real  Alexander Hamilton is also high. Or at least that's the hope of Seth Kaller, a historical document dealer who is currently offering a collection of original letters, documents and imprints penned by Alexander Hamilton, which Kaller says is valued at $2.7 million. The collection is now  online  and on display Thursday through Sunday at the New York Antiquarian Book Fair. One document that may particularly interest fans of the Tony Award-winning show is Hamilton's Aug. 8, 1780, letter to his future wife Eliza — one of the few love letters between the two that survive from this period. Sparks flew between Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuyler during the most heated period in U.S. history. As the daughter of Revolutionary War General Philip Schuyler and heir to two of the wealthies...
Devamı

The Story Behind an Iconic and Sultry Portrait of Elizabeth Taylor

Resim
On what would have been  Elizabeth Taylor 's 85th birthday — the actor, born Feb. 27, 1932, died in 2011 — TIME looks back on one of the most iconic portraits ever captured of her. Philippe Halsman , the prolific 20th-century portrait photographer, was assigned by LIFE Magazine to photograph Taylor for a profile story. Halsman was no stranger to LIFE: he had been a regular contributor since 1941 who captured the world’s leading figures, from  Marilyn Monroe  to Alfred Hitchcock to Winston Churchill, for the publication. In October 1948, Taylor — who was only 16 at the time — arrived in a low-cut dress at Halsman’s New York City portrait studio, which still exists today and is now home to the Halsman Archive. “In my studio Elizabeth was quiet and shy. She struck me as an average teen-ager, except that she was incredibly beautiful,” Halsman reflected in his book  Halsman: Sight and Insight. Halsman had his one-of-a-kind hand-built 4x5 view camera ready to go w...
Devamı

50 Women Who Made American Political History

Resim
The  history of women  in American politics is just as long as that of the nation as a whole. Even in the days before the Constitution guaranteed women the  right to vote , many tried hard to make a difference as best they could — and succeeded, not only by breaking glass ceilings and proving that women could handle the job but also by introducing important legislation, standing up for their fellow citizens' rights and much more. Whether they held office at the local and federal level, whether they were appointed to the most high-profile jobs in politics or to a role many would never hear about, and even if they merely ran and lost, each made her mark. Some of them wielded their influence in the nation's  earliest days  and others have only recently been elected to office. And, of course, that history is still being written by many women who have yet to make it to the history books. It would be impossible to sum up the complete role that women have play...
Devamı