Ebony Fashion Fair celebrates 33rd anniversary; Eunice W. Johnson is guiding force behind traveling extravaganza that has raised $36 million for charity

Ebony, April, 1991

Ebony Fashion Fair Celebrates 33rd Anniversary

THE phenomenal success of Ebony Fashion Fair, the largest and most colorful traveling fashion show in the world, has focused national attention on Fashion Fair models like cover girl Annette Thomas and the show's dynamic producer and director, Eunice W. Johnson. Since the 33rd season opened last fall, Ebony Fashion Fair has been featured on national TV shows and has received critical applause from the industry and the nation's press. The Baltimore Sun, for example, has said the show's character "is defined by a fine coordination of contemporary music, excellent commentary and Broadway-like performances by what may be the best group of models in the industry. They simply outdress and outperform any available competition."

Outdressing and outperforming the competition, the show, which attracts 300,000 persons a year, is celebrating its 33rd anniversary by presenting 190 shows in 184 cities, including, Montreal, Nassau, St. Thomas and St. Croix. During the last 33 years, the show has raised more than $36 million for various charities and community organizations, including the United Negro College Fund, the National Urban League, The NAACP, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, the Links and the Boys Club. The show is not a money-making venture for Johnson Publishing Co., but a small portion is deducted from each ticket sold for subscriptions to the JPC magazine designated by the ticket-buyer.

The guiding light for this traveling extravaganza is Producer-Director Johnson, who has emerged as a major force in the fashion industry. Repeatedly cited as one of the best-dressed women in the world, she is on a firstname basis with the world's top designers and has made more international journeys than most diplomats.

As the wife of EBONY Publisher John H. Johnson, and as the secretary-treasurer of Johnson Publishing Co., and the fashion editor of EBONY, Mrs. Johnson was among those daring I-want-it-all working women who set the standards for today's independent professional females. And she has been involved with the fashion show since its beginning.

The idea for the show was conceived in 1956 when Jessie C. Dent, the wife of then president of Dillard University, asked the company to sponsor a fund-raiser for the Women's Auxiliary of Flint-Goodrich Hospital in New Orleans. The first fashion show was such a hit that the publisher, in consultation with his wife, decided to take it on a cross-country tour to benefit other worthy charities.

In 1958, the late Freda DeKnight, then EBONY's food and fashion editor, organized the first tour, which featured four models and played in 10 cities. Mrs. Johnson began producing the show in 1963, and it rapidly became the most talked-about fashion event in hundreds of cities across the United States, as well as in Canada and the Caribbean.

What distinguishes this fashion show from other fashion shows is that it features not just one or two designers but the creations of as many as 100--including Black designers like the late Patrick Kelly and Willi Smith. During the early years, some designers refused to sell their garments to Mrs. Johnson, but she persisted. As Mrs. Johnson became known in fashion capitals, the designers began to look forward to her visits to their couture houses. Today, she buys more couture designs than anyone in Europe.

The work of such fashion luminaries as Yves St. Laurent, Christian Dior, Emanuel Ungaro, Pierre Cardin, Nina Ricci, Oscar de la Renta and Bill Blass are regularly featured in the show, and all have come to know Mrs. Johnson and to respect her fashion sense. "I first met her when she came to my showroom right after a collection with two beautiful, beautiful Black women," recalls Oscar de la Renta. "They were really extraordinary, and Mrs. Johnson is quite a lady herself. I learned that she was producing this fashion show and wanted some clothes. Of course, I immediately said yes, because they were the most extraordinary creatures I'd ever seen."

Designer Bill Blass says: "I can't remember when I didn't know of Mrs. Johnson. When I started out in this business, I was aware of the fact that there was this unique woman coming into 7th Avenue [in New york], into the Market, and she was not borrowing clothes for her show she was buying them. And the things she would buy would be the most daring, the most avant-garde. And when I finally did see an Ebony Fashion Show, I realized why."

Mrs. Johnson selects clothes for the show after viewing thousands of ensembles. She looks for clothes that will entertain--unusual, trend-setting styles cut from the most elegant fabrics and in bright, brilliant colors.

The 12 female and two male models are chosen from hundreds who audition each year. Among those individuals whose careers were launched as EBONY Fashion Fair models are actors Richard Roundtree, Jorge Ben Hur and Edward Hatch, actress Judy Pace, former supermodel Pat Cleveland and newscaster Sue Simmons. "I look for models that have a flair for fashion, a good natural stride, and an innate sense of confidence, for that self-assurance comes through on the stage," says Mrs. Johnson.