Today is the Sunrise day of Dorothea Towles Church (July 26, 1922- July 7, 2006), an African-American model who found stardom in the 1950s as the first Black model on the runways of Paris. Born in Texarkana, Texas, Dorothea Towles studied biology at Wiley College in Marshall, Texas, and graduated in 1945 with the intent of practicing medicine. While on vacation with her husband, Dorothea looked for modeling work and was hired on the spot by famous fashion designer Christian Dior to replace a model who was on vacation. She enjoyed modeling in Paris so much she decided not to return to the United States. After trying and failing to change her mind, her husband filed for divorce. Her success and acceptance in Paris were widely publicized in Black magazines and periodicals in the U.S., including earning her a place on the cover of the African-American weekly Jet in April 1953. Her modeling successes were historic not only because she was the first black woman accepted into the world’s top fashion houses in Paris, but before her, the industry was largely closed to accepting beauty as being represented by anyone except whites, both in Europe and the U.S. Thus, she was responsible for breaking down some of those barriers. Still, Towles experienced some racial prejudice from designers. For example, Pierre Balmain’s staff refused her request to borrow dresses for a photo shoot with Ebony magazine because they were concerned white clients would be displeased. Furthermore, they said African-American women would not be interested in, nor could they afford to buy, Balmain’s clothes. After returning to the U.S. in 1954 laden with trunks of designer dresses, she traveled the country, putting on fashion shows and serving as an inspiration for Black American women. In 1963, she married New York lawyer named Thomas A. Church and was featured in the exhibition “Black Style Now,” which opened in New York City following her death in 2006 at the age of eighty-three from complications from heart and kidney disease. Sources: tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fch79 britannica/EBchecked/topic/1220462/Dorothea-Towles-Church
Posted on: Sat, 26 Jul 2014 15:42:07 +0000
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