If you’re of a sure age, prospects are you bear in mind the Ebony Manner Fair displays of the late 20th century, extravaganzas replete with an all-Black forged of types wearing substantial-conclusion designs from around the environment.
Even additional common may well be the cosmetics line of the exact name, which was typically ubiquitous in the magnificence arsenals of so numerous of our moms and grandmothers, its goods encased in iconic pink marbled packaging.
The two were being the brainchild of the late Eunice Johnson, the matriarch of the Johnson Publishing empire and a vogue and splendor aficionado who considered Black attractiveness deserved a platform as large as any other. Launching Fashion Fair cosmetics in 1973, the model speedily cornered the industry on make-up for girls of colour when other brand names couldn’t be bothered to remotely look at darker-skinned clientele.
So, it was a little something of a tragedy that by the time Fenty Natural beauty disrupted the very long complacent beauty field with 40 shades of basis, Manner Reasonable was on its way out, owning faced decline in a sector that had finally begun to diversify.
Enter two previous Ebony execs, Desiree Rogers and Cheryl Mayberry McKissack, with a eyesight to protect the treasured legacy brand name whilst bringing it to a new era of elegance fans. Buying the bankrupt enterprise at auction, they began to do particularly that with the aid of elegance retail powerhouse Sephora—and a beloved manufacturer was reborn.
Rogers and McKissack’s revival of Fashion Good is chronicled in the new documentary The Splendor of Blackness, co-made by Sephora, Vox Media, Epic, and Digitas, and now streaming on HBO Max.
The attractiveness entrepreneurs—who also acquired and revitalized Black Opal—also sat down with theGrio to discuss their journey with the iconic Black elegance brand name, and what the long term may possibly maintain.
Observe our video earlier mentioned to listen to how Rogers and McKissack rebuilt the brand name, and listen to more at a digital city hall on The Natural beauty of Blackness on Monday, April 4, 6-7 pm ET. The online occasion is open to the general public, and thoughts can be questioned in advance RSVP at: bit.ly/BeautyOfBlackness.
Maiysha Kai is Lifestyle Editor of theGrio, covering all points Black and lovely. Her get the job done is educated by two decades’ expertise in style and leisure, a like of fantastic books and aesthetics, and the indomitable brilliance of Black tradition. She is also a Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter and editor of the YA anthology Entire body (Text of Transform sequence).
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