[Paving the RUNway: Donyale Luna ]

Before Naomi Campbell, Tyra Banks, or Iman first stepped foot on a runway, there was Donyale Luna...arguably the first African-American supermodel. Born Peggy Anne Freeman in Detroit Michigan in 1945, she was able to get her start by moving to New York City after being discovered by photographer David McCabe, where she eventually graced the cover of Harper's Bazaar in 1965, and was the first black woman to appear on the cover of Vogue in 1966.

Of her success, she said, “Back in Detroit I wasn’t considered beautiful or anything, but here I’m different… They were looking for a new kind of model, a girl who is beautiful like you’ve never seen before.”

Pop the top to see her Vogue cover...

An article in Time magazine published on April 1, 1966, "The Luna Year", described the 6' 2" model with bright blue contact lenses and occasional blonde wig as "a new heavenly body who, because of her striking singularity, promises to remain on high for many a season. Donyale Luna, as she calls herself, is unquestionably the hottest model in Europe at the moment. She is only 20, a Negro, hails from Detroit, and is not to be missed."

In honor of Black History Month, Haus of Bazaar wants to recognize Donyale Luna who unfortunately died in Rome, Italy, in a clinic after a drug overdose on LSD.