NEW YORK — From the beginning, modeling was always meant to be a business proposition, not a flight of fancy or a personal indulgence. And so, fashion was a remarkable, lucrative ride for the woman who came to be known simply as Iman: the model whose swan’s neck made a world-weary editor swoon, the Black woman who dominated a runway with a walk that was more grace than va-va-voom, the refugee who arrived in New York from 7,000 miles away — an African woman wrapped in the sexist, racist and absurdist cliches that this country still attaches to the multitudes from the continent, the Middle East or our southern border.
Iman makes the case for fashion’s humanity
The pioneering icon is defending her image, and that of other Black models, from the forgetful fog of history
Perspective by Robin Givhan
September 26, 2022 at 6:00 a.m. EDT