Cover girl of your dreams? Or dreaming of being a supermodel? Seeing yourself on the front of a magazine just might be on my bucket list. But until I reach international stardom, I’ll rely on my friends’ Photoshop skills to make me a supermodel.
Donyale Luna was an American model and actress. Generally cited as “the first black supermodel”, Luna was the first Black model to appear on the cover of the British edition of Vogue, in May 1966
Then came Beverly Ann Johnson who became the first Black model to appear on the cover of American Vogue in August 1974.
I’ve never considered myself to be self-conscious but there are lots of things I’m insecure about, physically- if that makes sense. Being in front of the camera with a friend behind the lens is so fulfilling. It’s understandable why famous models keep a posse of close friends around. Everyone needs that solid encouragement. Even the most beautiful women in the world.
I chose Essence because, Black owned, duh. Rolling Stone was chose because I’m a rockstar. And Vogue, because I love Andre Leon Talley.
“Mrs. Vreeland wouldn’t say, ‘Would you please put the gold lamé dress on the mannequin?’ André says before settling into a gleeful, jaunty impression. “She would say, ‘Cleopatra!’ And then she’d stand up and start acting like Cleopatra, and she’d say, ‘Now, you know she’s a teenage queen, and she spends all her days in the sun, and she’s beautifully tan, in this beautiful garden with beautiful albino peacocks trailing behind her—they’re her favorite pets. Now get cracking!” And while the documentary’s many boldfaced names—Marc Jacobs, Tom Ford, Diane von Furstenberg, Valentino, and Whoopi Goldberg among them—add wattage to André’s lively life, it’s the glimpses of his formative years in North Carolina that provide both poignancy and perspective while illuminating what stands out now as a singular vision.
Vogue Interview 2018
I’d love to do more creative shoots like this, suggestions are welcomed!
