By Condé Nast Archive
By Ivan Shaw
You know that sinking feeling you get when you forget your wallet? That was multiplied by a million for Beverly Johnson when in the summer of 1974, the model received a call telling her that she had made the cover of Vogue. Bursting with happiness, Johnson first called her mother (collect) and then ran to a nearby newsstand to see the cover for herself. “I remember going to the newsstand and going, ‘Oh my god, I forgot my money.’” Johnson tried to explain to the newsstand owner that she had left her purse at home: “But this is me!” she told the attendant, but he wasn’t having it, coolly replying, “If that was you you’d have the money.”
This August 1974 issue was a milestone for the model and the magazine: Johnson was the first African-American women to appear on the cover of the American edition. (Donyale Luna, another African-American model had appeared on a the cover of British Vogue in 1966). Johnson was photographed by Francesco Scavullo, a regular Vogue contributor who had a knack for capturing women at their most glamorous. The format of Johnson’s cover followed the head-and-shoulders style the magazine stuck to throughout the seventies and eighties. In some ways its predictable layout is what makes it so remarkable. “Scavullo didn’t shy away from Johnson’s blackness or depict her as ‘other,’” wrote Vogue writer Janelle Okwodu in a 2016. “Instead, [the portrait] presented a vision of elegant beauty that was relatable and real and totally of her era.”
By simply being herself on the cover of Vogue, Johnson opened the door for black models throughout the industry and changed the face of fashion magazines forever, as fashion writer Marjon Carlos wrote on vogue.com, “every major fashion publication began to feature black models; Givenchy hired an all-black roster of fit models.”
Johnson continued to model for Vogue for the rest of the decade. She appeared on three more covers, and on the cover of numerous other magazines including Glamour, French Elle and Cosmopolitan becoming a bona-fide star and earning between $100,00-$200,00 per year. Johnson was also a major presence on the runway, breaking down racial barriers for designers such as Yves Saint Laurent, Valentino, Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren.
Among her many accomplishments, it’s that first cover that Johnson is best remembered for and the one she remembers most. Of that momentous day she’s written: “That night when I went to sleep, every hour I would turn on the light and look at the cover to make sure it really happened.” Later on in an interview for Newsweek, Johnson discussed the impact of that day and her work after, “I see the inspiration of black women being lifted up all over when they look at me and that’s a super feeling.”
