Rihanna Rewind: Influential Black Cover Girls

As Rihanna becomes Dior’s face, we get you all the African-American women who broke the norm and became cover girls

Dior, the global fashion brand was found in 1946 and after ruling the industry for 69 years, in March 2015 they announced their first black campaign star - Rihanna. The singer became the first black woman to be the face of the Parisian fashion house.

Believe it or not it wasn’t till the late 60s that African-American models broke a cultural glass ceiling of sorts to make it to the cover of some popular magazines in the west.

Donyale Luna: Harper’s Bazaar, 1965

British model Donyale Luna was the first Afro American woman to grace the cover of Harper’s Bazaar in 1965.

Donyale Luna: Vogue UK, 1966

In 1966 she again became the first black model to grace the cover ofVogue magazine, by appearing in the British edition of the fashion glossy. Luna was only 21 when she made it on the Vogue cover. 

Tina Turner: Rolling Stone, 1967

Tina Turner broke all norms by becoming the first black woman to be featured on the cover of Rolling Stone’s 1967 issue. Tina in fact was the cover girl of the popular magazine’s second ever cover.

Darine Stern: PlayBoy, 1971

It wasn’t just fashion and pop culture, the porn industry too opened up by featuring Darine Stern on the cover of Playboy. The first African-American Playboy Playmate of the Year came much later - model and actress, Renee Tenison in 1990.

Naomi Campbell: French Vogue, 1988

Supermodel Naomi Campbell was the first black girl to be on the cover of the French edition of Vogue in 1988, when she was just 18.

Naomi Campbell: Time, 1991

Naomi again made a mark by being the first black model to be featured on the Time magazine cover in 1991.

Tyra Banks: GQ, 1996

And finally,Tyra Banks was the first ever African-American woman to make it to the cover of GQ, we’re talking about 1996 here. Beginning her career at 15, Tyra was 23 and a certified supermodel when she made it to the GQ cover.