This video was published on YouTube on February 18, 2017.
Zelda
Wynn Valdes was an African-American fashion designer and costumer
famous for dressing Black celebrities as well as designing the infamous
Playboy Bunny costume. Valdes learned how to sew by watching her
grandmother's seamstress and making dresses for her dolls as a child,
eventually making clothes for her grandmother and working for her uncle
as a tailor. She got a job as a stock girl for a high-end boutique, and
made her way up to salesclerk (becoming the first Black salesclerk in
the shop) and making alterations (becoming the first Black tailor in the
shop).
In 1948 she opened her own shop on Broadway and West 158th St in New York City, making her the first Black woman to open a shop on the major street. Later she moved 'Chez Zelda,' as she called it, to Midtown. The boutique was a runaway success, netting her celebrity clientele such as Josephine Baker, Mae West, Ella Fitzgerald, Dorothy Dandridge, Eartha Kitt, Marian Anderson, and Joyce Bryant. Valdes created what later became Bryant's signature sexy look, which earned her the nickname 'The Black Marilyn Monroe.'
In 1948 she opened her own shop on Broadway and West 158th St in New York City, making her the first Black woman to open a shop on the major street. Later she moved 'Chez Zelda,' as she called it, to Midtown. The boutique was a runaway success, netting her celebrity clientele such as Josephine Baker, Mae West, Ella Fitzgerald, Dorothy Dandridge, Eartha Kitt, Marian Anderson, and Joyce Bryant. Valdes created what later became Bryant's signature sexy look, which earned her the nickname 'The Black Marilyn Monroe.'
Source: Sensei Aishitemasu
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