Alex Tai/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Gett
Alex Tai/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Gett
Before there was Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty, there was Fashion Fair cosmetics. Created in 1973, Fashion Fair was the first national makeup brand that catered to women of color. The brand was founded by Chicago’s famous Johnson Family, who published Ebony and Jet magazines and put on the Ebony Fashion Fair.
The Ebony Fashion Fair was a traveling fashion show that showcased Black women in designer couture. But backstage, the models found themselves having to mix their own makeup with what little was available. The Johnsons created the Fashion Fair cosmetics brand to provide everyday Black women with a variety of shades that matched their skin tone.
But despite pioneering the makeup industry, the brand struggled to compete with contemporaries and slowly faded into obscurity. In 2019, it filed for bankruptcy. Now, Fashion Fair is back under new leadership and has relaunched. But is name recognition and a sleeker design enough for Fashion Fair to keep up with competition it helped create?
Today’s episode was reported by Planet Money and Code Switch, NPR’s show about race and identity.
Music: “Nights Like This” “Vin Et Fromage” and “Boogie Boy.”
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