Pictured: Zelda Wynn Valdes
Via: Dance Theater of Harlem
Do you know which black designer was accredited for creating the first Playboy costume? If not, allow us to inform you about Zelda Wynn Valdes. Zelda Wynn Valdes was born June 28, 1905, in the small town of Chambersburg Pennsylvania. She was inspired to become a seamstress by way of her grandmother who not only taught her how to sew but was a big fan of her designs. She was also influenced by her uncle who allowed her to work in his tailor shop in White Plains, NY. This was the stepping stone that allowed her to go on to create some of the most influential fashions of the time.
A legend in the making, Zelda was known not only for her aesthetic but for her empowerment of women of that time. Her skin-tight low-cut dresses were ushered into an era where women desired to embrace their femininity but were shut down. As a refreshing change of pace, her designs celebrated the female form and challenged the societal norms of the 1950s and 1960s. In 1948, Valdes opened her boutique “Chez Zelda”, which made her the first black person to own a store on Broadway in Manhattan. Dressing the likes of the most famous superstars of the time: Josephine Baker, Diahann Carrol, Eartha Kitt, and Joyce Bryant was a major accomplishment – though not her largest feat. Amongst her legendary accomplishments, include being commissioned to design the first and original Playboy bunny costume for Hugh Hefner in 1958. The iconic costume that the playmates still wear today. Zelda who modeled her life by her “God-given talent for making people beautiful” lived a long and plentiful life before being laid to rest in 2001 at 96 years old.
Pictured: Zelda Wynn Valdes designed dress for Mae West
Pictured: Dorothy Dandridge performing wearing
a beautiful mermaid by Zelda Wynn Valdes circa 1953
Pictured: Cabaret singer Joyce Bryant
wearing a Zelda Wynn Valdes gown
Pictured: Playboy bunnies in iconic Zelda Wynn Valdes
playboy costume circa 1960s
Pictured: Nat King Cole wedding to
Maria Ellington March 28, 1948
Photo Credits
First image (top)
Pictured: Zelda Wynn Valdes
Via: Dance Theater of Harlem
Per https://www.shondaland.com/live/style/a19992024/zelda-wynn-valdes/
Second image (left)
Pictured: Zelda Wynn Valdes designed dress for Mae West
https://fleurderiche.com/the-world-of-fleurs/zelda-wynn-valdes-how-she-shaped-nonconformist-fashion/
Third image (second to left)
Pictured: Dorothy Dandridge performing wearing a beautiful mermaid by Zelda Wynn Valdes circa 1953
https://fleurderiche.com/the-world-of-fleurs/zelda-wynn-valdes-how-she-shaped-nonconformist-fashion/
Fourth image (second to right)
Pictured: Cabaret singer Joyce Bryant wearing a Zelda Wynn Valdes gown
https://www.shondaland.com/live/style/a19992024/zelda-wynn-valdes/
Fifth image (right)
Pictured: Playboy bunnies in iconic Zelda Wynn Valdes playboy costume circa 1960s
https://www.shondaland.com/live/style/a19992024/zelda-wynn-valdes/
Sixth image (last)
Pictured: Nat King Cole wedding to Maria Ellington March 28, 1948
https://fleurderiche.com/the-world-of-fleurs/zelda-wynn-valdes-how-she-shaped-nonconformist-fashion/