Zelda Wynn Valdes

The Playboy bunny suit—a symbol of sensuality, of temptation, of allure—is an iconic piece that completely redefined feminine sexuality. You can probably picture it: the corseted leotard, the bushy tail, the bowtie; but what you might not know is that the piece was crafted by 20th-century Black designer, Zelda Wynn Valdes.

Valdes fitting Eartha Kitt for a dress in 1952. (Black Vintage Photo)

Born in June of 1901, Valdes spent most of her early years carefully watching as her grandmother’s seamstress made and mended dresses. In fact, her first real experience with design was when she made a perfectly-fitted, custom dress for her grandmother inspired by the work of the seamstress. After graduating from high school, Valdes moved to White Plains, New York with the rest of her family, where she continued to pursue her passion for design. She worked as a tailor and stock girl for a high-end boutique and slowly established a clientele of her own. The business of these patrons allowed her to open her own shop in 1948, making her the first Black person to open a store on Broadway. She called it Chez Zelda.

Joyce Bryant in a gown by Zelda Wynn. (Getty Images)

It was through this company that Valdes made a name for herself. She designed dresses for Josephine Baker, Ella Fitzgerald, Joyce Bryant, Mae West and so many others. Her pieces developed a language of their own; people could recognize a dress by Zelda Wynn from miles away. From their curve-hugging bodices to their low-cut necklines, Valdes’s pieces became a staple of their time period. Not only were her pieces a landmark of their era, they also presented feminine sexuality as it had never been seen before. They accentuated women’s bodies; they did not keep them hidden. In her article “How Zelda Wynn Valdes Redefined Fashion,” Princess Gabbara writes, “Valdes took immense pride in making women of all shapes and sizes look and feel like goddesses.” It is clear that Valdes really cared about her clients. She made sure to give them one-of-a-kind pieces that would last a lifetime.

The Playboy bunny suit. (Getty Images)

Hugh Hefner commissioned Zelda Wynn Valdes for the Playboy bunny suit in the late 1950s, after her shop’s relocation to Midtown Manhattan. She was still making and selling her gowns, charging roughly $1,000 per piece. The Playboy bunny suits were, obviously, a smashing success upon their debut, and many marveled at Valdes’s ability to successfully integrate her dressmaking skills into costume design. The bunny suits still had the Zelda Wynn charm, however. They were tight and snug against the women’s waists, had a low neckline, and were extremely high-hipped.

Zelda Wynn Valdes and Arthur Mitchell at the Dance Theatre of Harlem. (Harlem World Magazine)

After her time with Hefner, Valdes was approached by Arthur Mitchell, the first Black principal dancer to perform in the New York City Ballet, and asked to design costumes for the Dance Theatre of Harlem. In her work alongside this company, Valdes redesigned ballet basics, offering complexion-specific tights instead of merely ballet-pink ones. “The tradition in ballet is everybody’s supposed to be the same hue, but [Dance Theatre of Harlem] celebrated all the different colors of their dancers,” writes Nancy Deihl, author of The Hidden History of American Fashion: Rediscovering 20th Century Women Designers.

Valdes spent the remainder of her life designing for Dance Theatre of Harlem and assisting other Black designers in the industry. She led the National Association of Fashion and Accessory Designers for exactly this purpose: to elevate Black designs in a society which wished to keep them hidden. Her work helped pave the way for modern icons of the fashion industry like Carly Cushnie, Aurora James and Shayne Oliver. Zelda Wynn Valdes’s ability to engineer pieces for any and all bodies was something that set her apart from many other designers of the time. In a 1994 interview with the New York Times, Valdes said that she believed she had a “God-given talent for making people beautiful.” She was absolutely right. From costumes to couture, Zelda Wynn Valdes never failed to impress an audience of millions. Her pieces remain staples of American culture as we understand it today.

Zelda Wynn Valdes in her element. (Dance Theatre of Harlem)