Dorothea Church
Encyclopedia
Dorothea Towles Church was the first successful black fashion model in Paris.
. She was the seventh of eight children in a farming family.
She attended Wiley College
in Marshall, Texas, where she majored in biology
. After her mother's death, a wealthy uncle invited her to move into his house in Los Angeles
. She transferred to the University of Southern California
, where she received a master's degree in education. Church is of African American
descent.
She found work modeling for magazines with a black readership and in fashion shows on the West Coast.
Her sister, Lois Towles, sang in the Fisk University
concert choir during its European tour in 1949. Church scheduled a two-month vacation in Paris that coincided with the Fisk choir's concert schedule. While in Paris, Church decided to try out for some modeling assignments. Christian Dior
hired her on the spot to replace one of his regular models who was out on vacation.
Church found Paris so inviting that she decided to stay in France. She told her husband, a wealthy dentist several years her senior, that she wouldn't be returning to California. "He wrote me and even called me, but I told him I wasn't coming back," she said. "He finally got tired, and then he got a lawyer and sued for divorce."
Church also designed her own gowns with samples she bought from Paris designers using her model's discount.
In 1954 she returned to the United States
and began a tour of black colleges, showcasing her couture line. Her fashion shows served as fund-raisers for Alpha Kappa Alpha
, a sorority for black women.
She later signed as a model with the Grace del Marco agency in New York City
. Shortly after moving to New York she met Thomas Church, an immigration lawyer. They married in 1963 and had one son. They remained married until Thomas Church's death in 2000.
Church recalled her experience in Paris of the early 1950s in a 2004 interview for Women's Wear Daily
: "For once I was not considered black, African American or Negro. I was just an American." The French fashion establishment "treated you like a queen," she said.
In her 1998 book Black and Beautiful, author Barbara Summers quotes Church about her celebrity status in Paris at the beginning of the 1950s: "I got invited out all the time. I was the only black model in Europe and I just thought I was an international person."
Church was not totally immune to prejudice in Paris, however. Pierre Balmain
wouldn't allow her to borrow his designs for an Ebony Magazine shoot out of concern Balmain's white clientele would be offended.
"They didn't think that African American women would buy the clothes, that they could buy the clothes," Church told Summers. "That's where my education and my experience came in. I knew about black history and black society."
Instead, Church told Balmain she wanted to wear the dresses to a party. The photographs later were published in Ebony.
While on a modeling assignment for Elsa Schiaparelli
, Church overheard someone describe her as Tahitian.
in New York City
. Her death was attributed to heart and kidney disease.
.
She once dyed her hair silver platinum at the request of Christian Dior
.
She will be featured in the Black Style Now exhibition, opening September 7, 2006 at the Museum of the City of New York
.
Early life
Church was born in Texarkana, TexasTexarkana, Texas
Texarkana is a city in Bowie County, Texas, United States. It effectively functions as one half of a city which crosses a state line — the other half, the city of Texarkana, Arkansas, lies on the other side of State Line Avenue...
. She was the seventh of eight children in a farming family.
She attended Wiley College
Wiley College
Wiley College is a four-year, private, historically black, liberal arts college located on the west side of Marshall, Texas. Founded in 1873 by the Methodist Episcopal Church's Bishop Isaac Wiley and certified in 1882 by the Freedman's Aid Society, it is notable as one of the oldest predominantly...
in Marshall, Texas, where she majored in biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
. After her mother's death, a wealthy uncle invited her to move into his house in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. She transferred to the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
, where she received a master's degree in education. Church is of African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
descent.
Modeling career
Church initially considered an acting career, but was discouraged by the lack of roles for black actors. She enrolled in the Dorothy Farrier Charm and Modeling School in Los Angeles.She found work modeling for magazines with a black readership and in fashion shows on the West Coast.
Her sister, Lois Towles, sang in the Fisk University
Fisk University
Fisk University is an historically black university founded in 1866 in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. The world-famous Fisk Jubilee Singers started as a group of students who performed to earn enough money to save the school at a critical time of financial shortages. They toured to raise funds to...
concert choir during its European tour in 1949. Church scheduled a two-month vacation in Paris that coincided with the Fisk choir's concert schedule. While in Paris, Church decided to try out for some modeling assignments. Christian Dior
Christian Dior
Christian Dior , was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, also called Christian Dior.-Life:...
hired her on the spot to replace one of his regular models who was out on vacation.
Church found Paris so inviting that she decided to stay in France. She told her husband, a wealthy dentist several years her senior, that she wouldn't be returning to California. "He wrote me and even called me, but I told him I wasn't coming back," she said. "He finally got tired, and then he got a lawyer and sued for divorce."
Church also designed her own gowns with samples she bought from Paris designers using her model's discount.
In 1954 she returned to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and began a tour of black colleges, showcasing her couture line. Her fashion shows served as fund-raisers for Alpha Kappa Alpha
Alpha Kappa Alpha
Alpha Kappa Alpha is the first Greek-lettered sorority established and incorporated by African American college women. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of nine students, led by Ethel Hedgeman Lyle...
, a sorority for black women.
She later signed as a model with the Grace del Marco agency in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Shortly after moving to New York she met Thomas Church, an immigration lawyer. They married in 1963 and had one son. They remained married until Thomas Church's death in 2000.
Racial Barriers
Church was revered in France during the five years she modeled in Paris. "If you're beautiful, (the French) don't care what color you are," Church said.Church recalled her experience in Paris of the early 1950s in a 2004 interview for Women's Wear Daily
Women's Wear Daily
Women's Wear Daily is a fashion-industry trade journal sometimes called "the bible of fashion." WWD delivers information and intelligence on changing trends and breaking news in the fashion, beauty and retail industries with a readership composed largely of retailers, designers, manufacturers,...
: "For once I was not considered black, African American or Negro. I was just an American." The French fashion establishment "treated you like a queen," she said.
In her 1998 book Black and Beautiful, author Barbara Summers quotes Church about her celebrity status in Paris at the beginning of the 1950s: "I got invited out all the time. I was the only black model in Europe and I just thought I was an international person."
Church was not totally immune to prejudice in Paris, however. Pierre Balmain
Pierre Balmain
Pierre Alexandre Claudius Balmain was a French fashion designer. Known for sophistication and elegance, he once said that "dressmaking is the architecture of movement."...
wouldn't allow her to borrow his designs for an Ebony Magazine shoot out of concern Balmain's white clientele would be offended.
"They didn't think that African American women would buy the clothes, that they could buy the clothes," Church told Summers. "That's where my education and my experience came in. I knew about black history and black society."
Instead, Church told Balmain she wanted to wear the dresses to a party. The photographs later were published in Ebony.
While on a modeling assignment for Elsa Schiaparelli
Elsa Schiaparelli
Elsa Schiaparelli was an Italian fashion designer. Along with Coco Chanel, her greatest rival, she is regarded as one of the most prominent figures in fashion between the two World Wars. Starting with knitwear, Schiaparelli's designs were heavily influenced by Surrealists like her collaborators...
, Church overheard someone describe her as Tahitian.
Death
Church died at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital CenterSt. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center
St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, an academic affiliate of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, is a 1,076-bed, full-service community and tertiary care hospital serving New York City’s Midtown West, Upper West Side and parts of Harlem....
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Her death was attributed to heart and kidney disease.
Trivia
Church was the first black student at the Dorothy Farrier school in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
She once dyed her hair silver platinum at the request of Christian Dior
Christian Dior
Christian Dior , was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, also called Christian Dior.-Life:...
.
She will be featured in the Black Style Now exhibition, opening September 7, 2006 at the Museum of the City of New York
Museum of the City of New York
The Museum of the City of New York is an art gallery and history museum founded in 1923 to present the history of New York City, USA and its people...
.