Black Beauties: Three Iconic Models From Last Century Who Still Rock the House
Published 20th November, 2021
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Of the many, many fashion icons who graced the covers of the hundreds of fashion magazines over the last century, several of them stand out for their business success, multi-faceted media presence, and their never-fading beauty. These women are still with us today, contributing to society in their own unique and wonderful ways. Here are three beauties with brains and tenacity who continue to make their mark in fashion, music, film, television and advocacy.
Naomi Campbell
This British-born runway queen drew screams of delight at Paris Fashion Week this year, as she modelled a dramatically-flowing black cloak from Lanvin. At 51 years of age, Campbell has barely aged at all, still exuding grace and power from the ramp.
Campbell is no stranger to controversy, and has always been an outspoken advocate for equality, having experienced racism during the 90s, as a black model in an industry focused on blonde and blue-eyed girls. She has also been active in fundraising for other charities, such as the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund and Breakthrough Breast Cancer.
Most recently, in addition to strutting her stuff on the catwalk, she spoke up against racist attacks, in defense of the English football team, when they lost to Italy in the EUFA 2020 finals. She also added her voice to an open letter against Ghana’s refusal to recognise gay rights.
Around the turn of the century, Campbell created her own fragrance company, and has developed 25 fragrances for women, the most recent of which were released in 2018, called “Glam Rouge” and “Prȇt-à-Porter Absolute Velvet”.
With many roles and appearances in music videos, television programmes, films, documentaries and having featured in four biographies, (the most recent of which was in 2016), Naomi Campbell may have started her career as a model in the 1980s, but she is still making waves today.
Iman
Having been a popular and successful fashion model through the 70s and 80s, favored by Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue, and admired by Yves Saint Laurent, Iman retired from the industry quite young. She had made and spent a fortune, and was ready to move on.
She instead chose to focus on her career as a businesswoman. She created a cosmetics line for women of color, which weathered the trials of a new venture, and is still a respected luxury brand, offering cosmetics for all skins tones, as well as skin care and fragrance ranges. In 2010, in recognition of her achievements, Iman was awarded Fashion Icon Award by the Council of Fashion Designers. This year, she presented the award to Zendaya.
Iman is also well-known as the widow of rock legend David Bowie, and the mother of their child, Alexandria, to whom she gave birth in 2000. Iman and Bowie were married for over 20 years.
As a Somalian expatriate, Iman returned to her home country in 1992 to raise awareness of the impact of the war that had torn the country apart. The documentary, Somalia Diary, filmed with the BBC, highlighted the tragedy and loss of life. The success of this initiative encouraged Iman to continue with her charity work with the Children’s Defense Fund and Break the Cycle.
Iman has also written two books, and maintains an active role within her company as the CEO, at the age of 66.
Grace Jones
The powerhouse of sensuality and vigor that is Grace Jones began her modelling career in the late 60s, having moved with her family from Spanish Town, Jamaica to New York. She rebelled against her family’s conservative Pentecostal lifestyle, and rejected the bigotry found in mainstream society.
Her unique and distinctive style appealed to the fashion industry executives in Paris, where she moved at the age of 18, and she appeared on the covers of such fashion bibles as Elle and Vogue.
During the disco era of the 70s, Jones transitioned to music, and released a number of albums with varying degrees of success, and crossing from disco into new wave, pop and reggae.
This also led into film, Jones’ first well-known role being in the Bond movie, A View To A Kill. She has featured in many other films, including Boomerang, alongside Eddie Murphy. Well into the new millenium, Jones continued to release albums and act in film and music video roles, as well as releasing her memoirs in 2015.
For her long and distinguished contribution to the Arts, in 2018, Jones was awarded the Order of Jamaica, naming her quite aptly “The Honorable Grace Jones”.
This year, Jones appeared in her particular jaw-dropping style to perform on-stage at the Icon Ball during London Fashion week. Wearing a corset, fishnets, sequined coat and feather headdress, the 73-year-old trailblazer proves that no matter how old they may be, models from last century have staying power, slaying power, and they can still rock the house.