Beverly Lorraine Greene: A Foundation, Not a Footnote

Long before conversations about representation entered the design world, Beverly Lorraine Greene was already shaping it.

Zelda Wynn Valdes: Designing Power, Not Permission

Before fashion embraced the language of empowerment, Zelda Wynn Valdes was already designing it—stitched into every seam.

Valdes was a pioneering African American fashion designer whose work centered the female body with confidence, sensuality, and intention. In an era when Black women were largely excluded from high fashion, she built her own space, opening a boutique in Washington, D.C., and later New York City—becoming one of the first Black women to do so.

She is best known for designing the original Playboy Bunny costume, but her influence stretches far beyond pop culture. Valdes dressed icons such as Josephine Baker, Ella Fitzgerald, and Dorothy Dandridge, creating garments that celebrated curves rather than concealing them.

Her designs rejected the idea that elegance required restraint. Instead, they honored strength, movement, and visibility—principles that continue to shape fashion, interior design, and creative direction today.

Zelda Wynn Valdes didn’t just design clothing.

She designed autonomy.

Her legacy reminds us that Black women have long shaped aesthetics, luxury, and cultural identity—often without credit, but never without impact. What she created wasn’t a trend.