Remembering the Legacy of Pioneering Black Model Sandi Collins

Before there was Adut Akech, Naomi Smalls, Naomi Campbell, or even Grace Jones, several models of color laid the important groundwork, breaking through longstanding racial barriers. Towards the end of the 1960s, cultural tides were turning, and more diverse faces began taking their rightful places in popular media. Although iconic performer Josephine Baker was recognized for her popularity in France throughout many early issues of L’OFFICIEL, it was not until 1969, when Sandi Collins began her work with the magazine, that Black models became a consistent fixture in editorials. Yet despite her watershed work with the magazine, Collins's name—and those of other pioneering models of color—has been left out of much of fashion’s history. 

In June 1970, Collins would make history as the first non-white cover model for L’OFFICIEL. Dressed in swimwear by Courrèges, Collins was photographed by Roland Bianchini, a frequent L’OFFICIEL contributor, alongside an uncredited white model. Collins’ cover would come off the heels of an American outcry over Black model Donyale Luna’s 1966 Harper’s Bazaar feature photographed by David Bailey, which resulted in Southern advertisers pulling their placements, and an ultimate ban on Luna ever appearing in the magazine again. This permanent ban on the model, which was enacted in reaction to racist disapproval by Bazaar owner William Randolph Hearst, was never lifted, lasting until her untimely death in 1979. While Hearst’s action specifically targeted Luna’s career, the act was exemplary of the obstacles preventing diverse talent from covering magazines or walking runways stateside. While it suddenly became possible to become a Black fashion model, racism still stood firmly in the way of true success.

Collins still took great strides in becoming one of the first Black couture models, and the first consistent non-white model in L'OFFICIEL's editorial spreads. Paco Rabanne would select Collins as a frequent collaborator, forever tying her to the booming mod fashion trends of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. Thanks to her talents in bringing these fresh designs to life, Collins became synonymous with the fashion of the time and an inarguable staple on the runway and in editorial photography.

Collins’ role as a groundbreaking model of color is uncontested, but, at the same time, is vastly unreported. While Luna, her contemporary, would be remembered as one of the first Black couture models, it was not common practice during this era to credit models within the pages of the magazine, leaving her work mostly unattributed. Collins would later become a familiar face for lovers of vintage fashion magazines, and has even been incorrectly identified over the years as Diana Ross—which she admitted was flattering but, still, she’d prefer to receive the proper acknowledgment for her work.

Collins found success in working for Paris-based magazines like L’OFFICIEL, and with various French couturiers; she largely relocated to Paris in 1966 due to ongoing racism in America. Still, following her transatlantic move, it would take four years of concentrated effort and uphill battles as an original Black couture model before she would land her L’OFFICIEL cover. And Collins would not be the only Black model during the ‘60s and ‘70s who would choose to leave America behind and pursue a somewhat more welcoming industry abroad. Pat Cleveland, one of the best-known Black models of the era, also chose to leave the United States for Paris in 1971 due to American magazines’ refusal to put Black models on their covers. Across the Atlantic, she landed on L’OFFICIEL’s September 1971 cover, enveloped in a Christian Dior fur coat, making her the second Black cover model following Collins, and the first Black model to receive a solo cover from the magazine. Cleveland, who was part of Andy Warhol’s crowd and spent her time in Paris with other creatives and models like Antonio Lopez and Donna Jordan, ruled the runways of Paris.

More Black models would soon follow suit. In the late 1970s and ‘80s, the Martiniquan model Monique-Antoine Orosemane, known simply as Mounia, began her work as a top Haute Couture model and the first Black muse to Yves Saint Laurent. Throughout her career, she helped create some of the designer’s most memorable moments, receiving a standing ovation as she sauntered down the runway of his show-stopping 1978 “Broadway Suit” collection. In the pages of a 1980 spread in L’OFFICIEL, also photographed by Bianchini, Mounia selected her favorite pieces from Saint Laurent’s latest collection. Posing for the magazine in a classic spencer jacket while holding a cigar, she exuded the seductive glamour of the era. 

As contemporary Black models continue to push boundaries and enforce change, it is more important than ever to consecrate the stories of the people who laid the foundation. While Cleveland, Vairelli, and even supermodel and frequent L’OFFICIEL star Iman would continue modeling well beyond the 1970s and ‘80s, Collins would quickly step back from Parisian couture, minimizing public knowledge of her impact. Collins, now 80 and long retired from modeling, replies with a single statement when asked to reflect on her historical editorial work—“Working with L’OFFICIEL Paris and your photographer brings one word to mind righteous."