Joyce Bryant photographed by Philippe Halsman in a Zelda Wynn Valdes gown, NYC 1953
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Day 06: Zelda Wynn
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Later known as Zelda Wynn, Zelda Barbour Wynn Valdes was a fashion designer who dressed many mid-century stars. She was born June 28, 1905 in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania where she got her start by making doll clothes. She soon graduated to creating clothes for humans. In an interview with the New York Times, Wynn recalls offering to design and make a dress for her grandmother. The older woman doubted Wynn's ability to make a dress for someone who was "too tall and too big." Wynn took the challenge and excelled, creating a dress so well-loved that her grandmother would later be buried in it.
After working for a tailor and a clothier, Wynn eventually moved to New York City and opened her own shop called Chez Zelda. She had customers such as Marian Anderson, Ella Fitzgerald, Dorothy Dandridge, Joyce Bryant and Josephine Baker. Her signature sexy gowns also adorned later stars such as Gladys Knight and Jessye Norman. Of her skills, Wynn is quoted as having "a God-given talent for making people beautiful."
Wynn also designed costumes, such as the original Playboy Bunny suit. She also outfitted Arthur Mitchell's Dance Theater of Harlem for decades. An advocate for other black designers, Wynn started a fashion school in Harlem and also served as the president of the New York chapter of the National Association of Fashion and Accessory Designers.
Wynn describes dressing Ella Fitzgerald:I was able to measure her once, but thereafter she was so busy that she didn't have the time. She would order - always in a rush - and I would study photos of her and guess her increasing size. She always said they fit and she'd order more, always three at a time. I never had more than three to four days to finish the gowns. I am pleased to say that I never missed a delivery.
