With thanks to the @blackfashionhistorypodcast on Spotify for another fantastic episode exploring the life ands work of African American designer Zelda Wynn Valdez. If you love learning abour fashion history then I highly recommend having a listen. After starting her own dressmaking business in the 1930s, Zelda Wynn Valdez, opened the first black business on Broadway (1948) with her boutique 'Chez Zelda' selling figure hugging dresses to celebrities including movie star Dorothy Dandridge, opera diva Jessye Norman, and singer Gladys Knight. Valdes also dressed the entire bridal party for the 1948 wedding of Marie Ellington, aka Maria Cole and Nat King Cole and created a new look for singer Joyce Bryant dubbed the 'Black Marilyn Monroe' Zelda Wynn Valdez, however may be best known for designing the original Playboy bunny costume comissioned by Hugh Heffner for the Playboy playmates of the first Playboy club in 1960. The iconic outfit were the first uniform to be patented by the United States patents and trademark office. #fashionhistory #blackfashionhistory #blackdesigners #thingsyoushouldknow #vintagestylenotvintagevalues #playboybunny #playboycostume #blackhistory #corsethistory #vintagecorset #vintagewednesday https://www.instagram.com/p/CBP1pSbg-Bt/?igshid=1064ba3s8dzh0









