You Better Work...

A few years back I worked with a beautiful middle-aged African American woman. It was a mindless cubical job, one that neither of us enjoyed very much, but for some reason we connected. I could tell at the time that she was thoroughly over her life and hated our 9 to 5 existence. She was rude, sarcastic and sometimes just plain mean to customers. But to me she was charming, worldly and super cool. I always wondered what path led this true beauty to where she was at the time. I could see the frustration in her eyes, the feeling that she was above such mindless work; but not in a pretentious way, in a truthful and honest way. I remember one day someone telling me in passing that she used to model. But since the word “model” can take on so many forms, especially these days, I really didn’t pay much thought to the idea. It wasn’t until years later when I was thumbing through photography books at a local bookshop that her secret was revealed to me. I came across a very handsomely bound photography book on Halston’s life and work. The book contained amazingly glamorous photos from an era I only wish I had been a part of. As I flipped through the super chic images of Halston from the 70’s and 80’s, a look and style that I have always loved and in my opinion can never be duplicated, who did I find staring up at me with a huge full-of-life smile but none other than my mysterious office beauty, Alva Chinn. There she was effortlessly strutting arm in arm with Halston in a bright red jersey jumpsuit. This woman I saw everyday, who up until now had just been another lost soul living her life of quiet desperation was splashed across the pages as one of the chosen ones, part of the “it” crowd, a beauty to admire and envy and fantasize about. I kept turning the pages to find glamorous photo after glamorous photo of this super chic goddess living life to the fullest and, from the looks of it, loving every minute of it. Candid shots of her and Halston partying and living a life of excess reserved only for fashion royalty. I couldn’t believe it was her, how happy, young and bursting with energy she looked. I of course started researching this Miss Alva Chinn the minute I left the store only to find out that not only was she the lead “Halstonette” but an integral part of the fashion world at the time who helped pave the way for all African American models in the industry.

Alva Chinn was part of a defining moment in fashion history which took place on November 28, 1973 on the stage of the Opera House at the Sun King's Imperial Chateau in Versailles. Five American fashion designers were invited to show their work along with five French couturiers and for the first time ever the American designers included African American woman in their presentation, something never before seen on a Paris runway. According to NY Daily News photographer-Bill Cunningham, "The bejeweled Paris audience was stunned by the showmanship of the black models from America. The aristocrats were even thrilled.”… not to mention she was the first black woman to purchase a red Ferrari (not sure where that story came from or if it’s true, but its too fab not to include!)…AND Oscar De La Renta is her son’s godfather! So, needless to say the fact that I knew none of this, that she managed to keep her past a secret from me made me love her even more. I don’t know why she did, maybe she was embarrassed about how her life ended up, maybe for her those decedent memories weren’t fond ones, or maybe she was just a truly humble person who wanted to keep her past private. In any case, I never looked at her the same way again.

All of this has come to the forefront recently because of a new documentary about Halston called Ultrasuede: In Search of Halston (http://www.halstonmovie.com/). In the few preview clips available on the website there was my partner in crime, the ever glamorous super model Alva Chinn. I was instantly reminded of the story above and my brief obsession with this fascinating woman and her secret past. I’ve seen her a few times over the years on the street in passing. I never mentioned to her that I unlocked her secret, I didn’t need to. It had now become my secret.