When did Fashion Fair cosmetics go out of business?
When Fashion Fair launched in 1973, it was one of the only makeup brands creating cosmetics designed for women of color. But the brand struggled in the years before its parent company, Ebony and Jet magazine publisher Johnson Publishing, went bankrupt in 2019.
But as Johnson publishing was filing for bankruptcy in 2019, it sold Fashion Fair to former executives Rogers and McKissack. The business duo, along with another partner, scooped it up with plans of returning it to its former glory.
Fashion Fair came well before Estée Lauder and Clinique discovered the righteous potential in expanding their color palettes and diversifying their advertising. It remains the only major department store cosmetics brand catering specifically to black women. It is still fully owned and operated by Johnson Publishing.
Ebony Fashion Fair (also known as the Ebony Traveling Fashion Fair) was an annual fashion event created by Eunice Johnson, co–founder of the Chicago, Illinois–based Johnson Publishing Company. The show ran across the United States and other countries from 1958 until 2009.
Founded in 1973 by the incomparable Eunice Johnson, Fashion Fair was the first international prestige cosmetics brand for darker skin tones sold globally in stores from Neiman Marcus to Printemps. The brand broke racial barriers in business, and boldly established a new affirmation of Black beauty.
Before Fenty Beauty and Uoma Beauty, Fashion Fair was the premiere cosmetics brand tailored to dark skin tones. Founded in 1973 by Eunice Johnson, the Black-owned brand broke barriers in the beauty industry with its range of inclusive shades for Black and Brown skin tones.
Former Johnson Publishing executives Mayberry McKissack and Desiree Rogers bought Fashion Fair out of Johnson Publishing's bankruptcy for $1.85 million in late 2019 with the help of Alec Litowitz, founder and CEO of Evanston-based hedge fund Magnetar Capital.
New CEO Desiree Rogers tells us about her acquisition with fellow businesswoman and new president Cheryl Mayberry McKissack. Black Opal is arguably one of the most long-standing and popular brands associated with serving the cosmetic needs of black women.
Despite the limitations it faced over the decades, the Ebony Fashion Fair only came to an end when the Great Recession forced the Johnson Publishing Company to cancel the show's fall 2009 season.
The traveling fashion show, Ebony Fashion Fair, took place for 50 years, from 1958 to 2009, and grew out of the fashion pages of Ebony magazine–first published in 1945 by Johnson Publishing Co. in Chicago, co-founded by John Johnson and his wife, Eunice Walker Johnson.
Who owns Johnson Publishing Company?
Four Foundations Acquired Johnson Publishing Archive for $30 Million on Behalf of Getty Research Institute and Smithsonian's African American Museum. THE HISTORIC ARCHIVE of Johnson Publishing Company (JPC) was sold to a consortium of four foundations—the Ford Foundation, J. Paul Getty Trust, Catherine T.
Last fall, thanks to Desiree Rogers, the Obamas' former White House social secretary — the first Black woman ever to hold that role, though she didn't hold it for long — Fashion Fair officially relaunched in 225 Sephora stores with actress KiKi Layne as its celebrity ambassador.
Our products are cruelty-free; and all of our products are vegan.
Fashion makeup is a unique field within the larger career of makeup artistry. Makeup for fashion settings is usually designed to be high impact, and is meant to show the model and the design being modeled to the best effect.
A combination of high fashion, design and beauty tips from around the world.
Enter Black Opal. Launched in 1994, the brand's pigmented products—including its hero product, the stick foundation—and affordable prices (everything is under $20) made it among the rarest of finds for Black makeup lovers: color cosmetics that were as easy on the purse as they were vibrant and ash-free on the skin.
Black Opal, the skin-care and makeup brand specifically for women of color, is hitting the gas pedal in 2021. The 25-year-old brand was acquired in mid-2019 by Desiree Rogers, former Fashion Fair Cosmetics CEO and social secretary to President Obama, and Cheryl Mayberry McKissack, former Ebony Media CEO.
Yesterday, Black Opal announced that the global beauty brand has been acquired by Desiree Rogers and Cheryl Mayberry McKissack, making it officially a Black-owned beauty brand. The brand was originally created in 1994 by a chemist named Niko Mouyiaris.
The Ebony Fashion Fair was a traveling show that would visit up to 30 cities per year over the course of its 51-year lifetime. Black models showcased the looks of designers of color including b. Smith, Stephen Burrows, Patrick Kelly, Willi Smith and L'Amour.
| February 14, 1952, cover with Acquanetta | |
|---|---|
| Former editors | Mitzi Miller, Mira Lowe, Sylvia P. Flanagan, Robert E. Johnson |
| Based in | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Language | English |
| Website | jetmag.com |
Is Fashion Fair back?
Last fall, thanks to Desiree Rogers, the Obamas' former White House social secretary — the first Black woman ever to hold that role, though she didn't hold it for long — Fashion Fair officially relaunched in 225 Sephora stores with actress KiKi Layne as its celebrity ambassador.
Fashion makeup is a unique field within the larger career of makeup artistry. Makeup for fashion settings is usually designed to be high impact, and is meant to show the model and the design being modeled to the best effect.
