Well….. yes and no and it depends. Zelda Valdes grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina, but was born Zelda Christian Barbour in Chambersburg, PA. She trained as a classical pianist at the Catholic Conservatory of Music. Valdes would continue to work with the Dance Theater of Harlem until her death on September 26, 2001, at age ninety-six. Around the same time, Valdes began working as a stock girl at a high-end boutique. Pauline Ducruet was born on May 4, 1994 in Monaco. All Rights Reserved. Auction Records (0) For Sale (0) Zelda Wynn Valdes In a recent edition of The New York Times the special section titled “Overlooked” listed several African-Americans who deserved obituaries but … One young woman gave facts on costume designer Zelda Barbour Wynn Valdes who designed the original Playboy bunny costume, stating that in honor of the designer, she made the dress she wore for the program. A blogger blogs about black history in fashion, and on designer Zelda Wynn Valdes, the first african american to own a boutique/shop on Broadway in New York City. Valdes was born on June 28, 1905, and grew up in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Valdes’s fashion designs were responsible for creating a new sexier image for singer Joyce Bryant who was a huge star in the African American community in the early 1950s and whom Life Magazine later described as the “the Black Marilyn Monroe.” In 1958 Playboy Magazine founder Hugh Hefner hired Valdes to design the first Playboy Bunny costumes. Zelda Wynn Valdes (or Zelda Barbour Wynn Valdes ) was a fashion and costume designer for the biggest names in Hollywood. Once Ms. Bryant adapted the skin-tight, low-cut gowns by Zelda Wynn Valdes, her career took off. Got her start in fashion creating outfits for her dolls as a child in Chambersburg, Pa., and began cutting out patterns from newspaper. Originally, the Valdes design had the ears taller and the ensemble lacked the trademark bow tie, collar, and cuffs. Feb 21, 2017 - You may not have heard of Zelda Wynn Valdes, but you’ve certainly seen her designs. Valdes was known for creating designs displaying a woman’s curvy appeal. She would later move Chez Zelda to midtown Manhattan, setting up shop on 57th Street. In the early 1920s, Valdes started to work in the tailoring shop of her uncle in White Plains, New York. Zelda Wynn Valdes was a designer to the stars who could fit a dress to a body of any size — even if she had to do so just by looking at the client. “Zelda Barbour Wynn Valdes,” Fashion Sizzle, http://fashionsizzle.com/2013/02/zelda-wynn-valdes-first-black-designer-and-costumer-to-open-her-own-shop/; “Zelda Barbour Wynn Valdes,” Dumpling Designs, http://dumpling-designs.com/history/zelda-wynn-valdes-african-american-fashion-pioneer/; “Zelda Barbour Wynn Valdes,” OUP blog, https://blog.oup.com/2015/03/costume-designer-zelda-wynn-valdes/. In 1949 Valdes was elected president of the New York Chapter of the National Association of Fashion and Accessory Designers (NAFAD), an organization of black designers that was founded by educator and political activist Mary McLeod Bethune. The fashion designer is credited with creating the original Playboy bunny costume. Like BlackAmericaWeb.com on Facebook. From dressing Hollywood darlings, Playboy Bunnies and ballerinas, Zelda's legacy is long and enduring -- a fact that she was certainly proud of. All donations are tax deductible. Zelda Wynn Valdes created the first Playboy bunny costume. Black Celebrities Born Under The Sagittarius Zodiac Sign. The Artist. "I just had a God-given talent for making people beautiful," Zelda said during a 1994 interview with The New York Times. She eventually worked her way up to selling and making alterations, becoming the shop's first black sales clerk and tailor. A small donation would help us keep this accessible to all. BlackPast.org is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization. The legendary Harlemite Zelda Barbour Wynn Valdes (June 28, 1905 – September 26, 2001), was an African-American fashion designer and costumer based in Harlem who designed the original Playboy Bunny costume. She was also the first Black person to open a store on Broadway in New York City, and designed clothing for some of the top stars of the ’40’s and ’50s. “I only fit her once in 12 years,” Valdes told T he New York Times in 1994 of her long-time client Ella Fitzgerald, “I had to do everything by imagination for her.” In 1948, the Pennsylvania-born Valdes opened her Chez Zelda boutique on Broadway and West 158th Street before relocating to Midtown. I had to do everything by imagination for her. Born Zelda Wynn Valdes on June 28, 1905 in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. The work of the trailblazing fashion designer/entrepreneur highlighted the … Follow us on Twitter. Later in her career, she designed for R&B legend Gladys Knight and opera vocalist, Jessye Norman. Describing her design process for Fitzgerald in a New York Times feature, Valdes said, “I only fit her once in 12 years. Are you a true Zelda fan? Zelda Wynn Valdes was designer-to-the-stars in the ’40s and ’50s known for her form-fitting designs for stars like Dorothy Dandridge, Josephine Baker, … Zelda Wynn Valdes died at the age of 96 in 2001. Buy / Sell. In 1948, she opened her boutique, Chez Zelda on Broadway and 158th Street in Harlem, NY, which was the first in the area to be owned by an African-American. Valdes, who died in 2001, opened the first African-American owned boutique, Chez Zelda, in Manhattan in 1948 (the shop later moved to Midtown in 1950). Zelda Wynn Valdes was a designer to the stars who could fit a dress to a body of any size — even if she had to do so just by looking at the client. Zelda Wynn Valdes is who you have to thank for the classic Playboy Bunny costume, a costume so ingrained in our psyche that the silhouette alone tells you what you need to know. Some dress outrageously to gain attention – in fact, IMO a great many performers do – most especially the female performers. Resources. Zelda Barbour Wynn Valdes was an African American fashion and costume designer. Created Aug 2011, prior to Skyward Sword. Valdes’s celebrity clients included Josephine Baker, Mae West, Ella Fitzgerald, Dorothy Dandridge, Eartha Kitt, and Marian Anderson. Zelda Wynn Valdes –Fashion Designer (1901-2001) Fashion and costume designer, Zelda Barbour Wynn Valdes, was born in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Hefner commissioned Valdes to design the Playboy Bunny costume after the magazine’s promotions director, Victor Lownes, came up with the idea. 2. In 1948 at the age of forty-seven, Valdes opened the first African American owned boutique in Manhattan on Broadway and West 158th Street with her sister, Mary Barbour, who worked as her assistant. However, she was born in a small town, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania south of … Valdes was the first black designer to open her own shop, which was the first black-owned business on Broadway in New York City, New York in 1948. Also the designer of … Fashion legend ZELDA WYNN VALDES (1905 – 2001) was the first black designer and costumer to open her own shop, which was the first black-owned business on Broadway in 1948.. Zelda Wynn Valdes - Zelda Wynn Valdes opened her own shop in Broadway in New York in 1948. From the very childhood, she showed intense love for fashion and started her professional career as a little designer in the tailoring shop of her uncle in White Plains, New York. Working in and around New York City, the center of the American fashion industry, Valdes began her career as an assistant to her uncle in his White Plains, New York tailoring shop. Company, the Valdes Design had the ears taller and the ensemble lacked the trademark tie. Boutique soon attracted numerous celebrities and society women do everything by imagination her... Legend Gladys Knight and opera vocalist, Jessye Norman stylist apprentice at Instituto.... 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