Who was Zelda Wynn Valdes?
Zelda Wynn Valdes (1905-2001) was an African American fashion and costume designer whose career spanned 40 years.
Working in and around New York City, the center of the American fashion industry, Valdes began her career as an assistant in her uncle’s White Plains, New York tailoring shop.
In 1948, she opened her own boutique on upper Broadway called “Chez Zelda,” making history as the first black person to own a store on Broadway.
Her Influential Designs and High-Profile Clientele
Valdes made her mark by creating exquisite special occasion garments beloved by her loyal clients. She designed wedding gowns, evening dresses, cocktail dresses and other glamorous pieces.
Her signature sexy but sophisticated styles that boldly accentuated women’s curves were worn by the likes of Josephine Baker, Dorothy Dandridge, Eartha Kitt, Ella Fitzgerald and Mae West. She also dressed the wives of famous black celebrities like Nat King Cole and Sugar Ray Robinson.
The Playboy Bunny Costume – Her Most Famous Design
While Valdes had dressed icons for decades, she is perhaps best known today as the original designer of the Playboy Bunny costume.
With her expertise in creating figure-hugging gowns, Valdes was commissioned by Hugh Hefner in the 1950s to design the signature Playboy Bunny outfit — a strapless satin corset with bunny ears, collar, cuffs and cotton tail. The snug costumes with plunging necklines embodied Valdes’ sexy aesthetic.
Paving the Way for Black Designers
As a leading black designer, Valdes also founded the National Association of Fashion and Accessory Designers to promote black professionals in the segregated fashion world.
In the 1970s, she began designing costumes for the Dance Theatre of Harlem, where she modernized ideas of ballet with over 80 productions. Valdes helped pave the way for all black fashion and costume designers today.
An Overlooked Fashion Pioneer
Despite her innovative designs worn by legends and her barrier-breaking success as a black business owner, Valdes remains overlooked in fashion history.
But with her bold feminine aesthetic, loyal celebrity clientele that included icons like Josephine Baker, and creations like the iconic Playboy Bunny costume, Zelda Valdes clearly deserves recognition as a groundbreaking African American fashion pioneer.
