WORLD'S FIRST BLACK SUPER MODEL, THE LEGENG NAOMI SIMS.

 

Modeling and fashion legend, Naomi Sims, was born on September 20, 1949, in Oxford, Mississippi. She would go on to become the world's second black supermodel before the term "supermodel" had been coined.

At 13, Naomi already measured 5'10. She left Mississippi for better schooling opportunities in Pennsylvania. Often teased because of her height and southern accent, she felt alone.

She accredits her catholic faith for teaching her to walk with pride and dignity from an early age. Later, she moved to New York City to study design at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Needing more money to finance her studies, she launched her modelling in 1967 career after running low on money. She began by posing for illustrators.

Naomi's perspicacity and drive started a revolution in the fashion world and in the beauty industry. One day, she by chance came across a photographer's agent. He wrote down three names and urged her to go see the photographers. With no agent, she contacted the renowned photographer Gosta Peterson, who was also known for his innovation. It also just happened that Peterson' was married to Pat Peterson, the fashion editor of The New York Times and of its "Fashion of the Times" bi-yearly supplement. Peterson's photos of her pushed Sims into the history books. On August 27, 1967 Sims became the first black woman to get the cover of the "Fashion of Times", a supplement to The New York Times.

With her recent groundbreaking accomplishments, Sims soon learned that being a pioneer in the US market was not easy. She approached all the top modelling agencies in New York City including Ford. Eileen Ford refused to meet with her directly. Former model Sunny Harnett, who now worked at Ford as an assistant, delivered the news to her. After being informed that Ford already had too many models of "her kind", Sims went on over to the newly organized Wilhelmina Models. Wilhelmina refused to take her onto her books. However, Naomi managed to convince Wilhelmina to allow her to use the agency's contact information on the card that she attached to the Times cover that she sent to every ad agency in the city. Days later, Sims returned home to discover a message under her door. It read, "CANNOT REACH YOU BY TELEPHONE. URGENT YOU CALL US." It was a telegram and had been sent by Wilhelmina. Fearing that she had done something wrong, Naomi did not respond. Another telegram came for Sims and she again did not respond. Then, Wilhelmina sent a third telegram to Naomi explaining that she needed to come into the agency because they had lots work for her.
Naomi's ingenuity and initiative paid off. By helping herself, she simultaneously cracked a hole in the modelling industry...and that is how she started.