Celebrating Women’s History Month
Sewing, Singing, Pianoing: Zelda Valdes Did It All
Ayanna Williams
Fashion designer, Zelda Valdes, Photo courtesy of Dance Theatre of Harlem
The first Playboy Bunny outfit was designed by Zelda Wynn Valdes (June 28, 1905 - September 26, 2001) who was an African American fashion and costume designer.
Hugh Hefner, the owner of Playboy Bunny magazine, isn’t the only celebrity she has worked with. She’s worked on several projects with important people like Eartha Kitt, Josephine Baker, Ella Fitzgerald, the wife of Nat “King” Cole, etc.
Although she had experience in dressing celebrities, she started her craft at an early age by making clothes for her dolls and her grandmother. She also got to practice her sewing skills in her uncle’s tailoring shop and she shadowed her grandmother who was a seamstress. Her first real job was at an upscale boutique where she worked her way up from a stocker to become the first Black salesperson and tailor there.
Valdes opened her own shop on Broadway and 158th Street in 1948 and relocated it to midtown Manhattan on West 57th Street. She named it Chez Zelda. Valdes became the first Black fashion designer to open up a shop on Broadway.
Later on, she became president of the New York chapter of the National Association of Fashion and Accessory Designers.
Creating fashion statements wasn’t the only thing she was good at, she trained as a classical pianist at the Catholic Conservatory of Music. She could sing different genres of music too.
After closing her shop in 1989, she continued to work in the fashion industry with the Dance Theatre of Harlem until she was 96 years old.