Ebony Fashion Fair
| Fashion Show | |
| Founded | 1958 |
| Defunct | 2009 |
| Headquarters |
Johnson Publishing Co. Chicago, Illinois U.S. |
|
Key people
|
Eunice W Johnson John H Johnson |
| Products | Cosmetics (1973) |
| Website | ebonyfashionfair.com |
Eunice W Johnson
Ebony Fashion Fair (also known as the Ebony Traveling Fashion Fair) was an annual fashion event created by Eunice Johnson, co-founder of Chicago-based Johnson Publishing Company. The show ran across the United States and other countries from 1958 until 2009. In addition to the fashion fair, there was also a cosmetic line named Fashion Fair Cosmetics which was created in 1973. As of 2014, The Fashion Fair Cosmetics are still available for purchase.
In 1956, John H. Johnson, founder of the Johnson Publishing Company, was approached by Jessie Dent (the wife of the then-current president of Dillard University) who asked Johnson to supply models for a charity fundraiser benefiting the Flint-Goodridge Hospital located on Dillard University’s New Orleans campus. Reluctant to use the models featured in the magazines published by his company, Johnson instead offered to provide the clothing. Johnson and Dent then came to an agreement: Johnson Publishing company would supply the garments for the fundraiser, and, each ticket to enter the show would include a subscription to either Ebony or Jet Magazine—both published by Johnson’s company.
The Ebony Fashion Fair was launched in 1958 by the Johnson Publishing company and repeated annually for five decades under Eunice Walker Johnson; the director and producer of the show. The Ebony Fashion Fair (also known as the “Ebony Travelling Fashion Fair), traveled to 30 cities over its 51 year run providing exclusive fashion to “hundreds of thousands attendees across the United States, Canada and the Caribbean” (Bivins.11). The show was held in 187 venues with audiences as large as 5 thousand attendees. The Ebony Fashion Fair not only helped to boost the Johnson Publishing Company’s brand identity but, it also raised $55 million in funds for African American Charities. The show featured male and female models of mostly African-American descent modeling fashions from top European designers such as: Yves St Laurent, Oscar de la Renta, Pierre Cardin, Paco Rabanne, Givenchy, Jean Paul Gaultier, Valentino, and Emanuel Ungaro.
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