Beverly Johnson has a simple answer for why she decided to walk the catwalks of two famous designers performing at New York Fashion Week: They asked.
Johnson, 69 years old and a grandmother, is one of the original supermodels. As a black woman, she broke barriers and expanded on conventional beauty ideals at the time by appearing on the cover of American Vogue in 1974.
Her career flourished and she became a sought-after face for decades, appearing on the covers of hundreds of magazines.
Johnson, also an author and businesswoman, returned to her modeling roots this week and prepped designers Sergio Hudson and Bibhu Mohapatra. She was the last model to walk in
Mohapatra’s performance was on Tuesday, and the crowd clapped and cheered when they recognized her.
Beverly Johnson and fashion designer Bibhu Mohapatra greet the audience during his show at New York Fashion Week. (ANGELA WEISS / GET IMAGES)
Wearing a white evening gown – sleeveless on one side and accented with black floral lace sleeves on the other – Johnson smiled as she slowly took turns down the runway.
The look consisted of an impressively long, billowing black cape that she flipped over when she turned around. She admits she needs to practice a bit before the show.
“After I took that walking lesson, I was fine. It was a wonderful, beautiful experience,” said Johnson Related press backstage after the Mohapatra performance, where onlookers gathered around her to take pictures.
As a fashion leader, she is touched by today’s push for greater diversity and a greater appreciation of different cultures in the industry.
“All the models (in the Mohapatra show) are color models in honor of Black History Month and – you will make me cry right now,” Johnson said, with tears in his eyes.
“In 2024, it will be the 50th anniversary of me telling the cover story of becoming the first Black woman to appear on the cover of American Vogue. So it means a lot to me, this show.
“And the show of Sergio Hudson – the black designer is making great strides in the fashion industry. It’s great to see this,” she said. “I didn’t have this when I got to the 70s, 80s and 90s.”
Johnson has participated in many fashion weeks over the years and says she loves spending time with young models backstage. She finds them “beautiful, elegant, and wonderful.”
But she noted one major difference between them and their contemporaries.
“The girls are much taller. I mean my Sergio show, no one is under 6 meters! Usually before that it’s 5-10 and that’s enough! ‘ she said with a smile.
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