By : Aariyan Carter 2nd Hour Zelda Wynn Valdes By : Aariyan Carter 2nd Hour

Who Is Zelda ? African American fashion & costume designer. Zelda Barbour Wynn Valdes was born June 28, 1905 in Chambersburg African American fashion & costume designer. She got her start in fashion creating outfits for her dolls as a child. She studied her grandma’s work as a seamstress and worked in her uncle’s tailoring ship. She was known as one of the top black pioneering female designers along with Ann Lowe who designed Jackie Kennedy’s wedding dress, and Elizabeth Keckley who was the sole designer & creator of Mary Todd Lincoln’s event wardrobe.

Who Is Zelda Pt.2 ? Influential fashion designer First black person to open a store on Broadway in NYC. In 1948, Zelda opened her boutique called “Chez Zelda” on Broadway & West 158th St. before she moved to Midtown. A year after her store opened, she was named the President of the New York chapter of the National Association of Fashion & Accessory Designers. Since she was the president of this Association she got to work in exclusive circles and word of her designs then word of her designs caught the attention of Playboy’s Hugh Hefner.

Who is Zelda pt. 3 ? Hugh Hefner paid Zelda to design the Playboy bunny costume. The costume made its formal debut in February 1960. In 1970, Zelda started working with the Dance Theater of Harlem. She worked for the dance company for 18 years, retiring in 1988. Her curve hugging creations were worn & loved by most of Hollywood’s stars. She was known for highlighting the female body.

Zelda’s designs Zelda designed for many stars of the 50’s and 40’s. These stars included: Joyce Bryant- American singer “The Black Marilyn Monroe” Dorothy Dandridge- American film actress Josephine Baker- French dancer & activist Ella Fitzgerald- American singer Mae West- American actress Gladys Knight- American singer-songwriter Jessye Norman- American opera singer

Zelda’s designs

Zelda’s Designs

Zelda’s Designs

Zelda’s designs

Reflection I chose Zelda, because she’s a fashion designer and that’s what I plan to be. She was a successful & BLACK fashion designer who paved the way for other designers. This just makes it more reassuring that I can do it , if I put my mind to it, because she did things that people thought a “black women” could do. This gives me more confidence, because nowadays it’s not many from the ground black female designers in the fashion industry. If it is black female designers in the industry they’re a celebrity or they’re already rich. Zelda is my one of my idols.

Sources https://blog.oup.com/2015/03/costume-designer-zelda-wynn-valdes/ http://anndandridgepublicrelations.ning.com/profiles/blogs/zelda- wynn-valdes http://colorwebmag.com/2017/09/28/meet-zelda-wynn-valdes-the- woman-behind-hugh-hefners-iconic-playboy-bunny/