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Please join author/illustrator Aura Lewis and fashion designer Farai Simoyi on Sunday, September 29th at 3PM! About the book:
In this lustrous nonfiction picture book biography, meet Black fashion icon and design pioneer Zelda Wynn Valdes, whose dresses, gowns, and costumes helped make people shine.
Zelda grew up watching her grandmother at the sewing machine, until she decided her grandmother deserved a pretty dress of her own—and Zelda was going to make it herself. Snip, snap, sew! The dress was sensational! Her grandmother glowed, her family was dazzled, and Zelda fell in love with sewing, sequins, and style. She began to dream of designing dresses that made people everywhere feel beautiful.
Zelda started off patching and mending at a tailor shop and making dresses when she could. The 1950s fashion world was run by white designers, and people weren’t used to Black women like Zelda making a name for themselves. But Zelda knew she could do it. Eventually, her designs became so popular that Zelda opened her very own boutique in New York City! People of all backgrounds and sizes came to Zelda’s store, and she dressed them for every occasion.
She continued to wow crowds, magazines, critics, and celebrities with her designs. She made gowns for famous singers like Ella Fitzgerald, costumes for Broadway shows, and tights for ballerinas that matched the dancers’ skin tones. Zelda was a star, and with every sketch, stitch, and design, she gave people a way to dazzle!
Order the book: bookmarkshoppe.com/book/9781665918299
About the authors:
Aura Lewis studied design at Parsons School of Design as well as illustration at the School of Visual Arts. She is inspired by fashion, playful color, vintage design, and popular culture, and her work is featured on stationery, in ad campaigns and editorial publications, and in books for adults and children, including A Curious Mind and A Very Big Heart, The Illustrated Feminist, and We the People. Aura loves to travel the world, and so far, she has lived on four continents. You can find her work at AuraLewis.com.
Farai Simoyi has 19 years of experience designing and consulting for some of the most globally recognized celebrities with fashion brands and industry staples such as Beyonce, Jay-Z, Nicki Minaj, Justin Timberlake, Rachel Roy, Anne Klein, and Robert Rodriguez to name a few. She has also accumulated esteemed awards and toured the world speaking on topics such as Global Fashion Development, Sustainability, Manufacturing in Africa, and Diversity & Inclusion at renowned institutions such as Tapestry Inc., Fashion Institute of Technology, West Virginia University, Yale
University, U.S. Dept of State Educational & Cultural Affairs, US. Embassy of Zimbabwe, & Standard Bank Incubator of South Africa.
Following her impressive competitive delivery in the first season of the Netflix fashion design competition series, Next in Fashion’ Simoyi continues her mission to promote her design work while elevating global artisans and designers through her Brooklyn-based company and retail store, The Narativ House.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
8415 3rd Ave, Brooklyn, NY, United States, New York 11209
