Donyale Luna: Myth, Model, Muse, Part II - Dressed: The History of Fashion

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Please enjoy this episode from the Dressed archive of over 500 plus shows. Dressed will be back with all new content in March of 2025. Until then, consider heading to DressedHistory.com to explore our latest online fashion history classes and in person tours of Paris and New York City. More from Dressed coming your way. Over 7 billion people in the world. We all have one thing in common. Every day we all get dressed welcome.
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To Dressed the History of Fashion, a podcast where we explore the who, what, when of why we wear. We are fashion historians and your hosts.
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April Callahan and Cassidy Zachary. Welcome Dress listeners to Part two of our two part episode on the supermodel sensation Don Yell Luna. On Tuesday's episode, as you remember, we barely scratched the surface of Danielle's career. We ended in 1966, the year that the 20 year old enjoyed a seemingly instant overnight rise to fame after becoming the first Black model and first model of color ever to appear on the COVID of any edition of Vogue magazine. With her March British Vogue issue debut.
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In their 1966 article the Luna Year, Time magazine credited Dhonielle with setting the standard for a completely new image of Black women in the fashion industry, writing that, quote, fashion finds itself in an instrumental position for changing history, however slightly. For in the industry's promotion of Danielle Luna, it is about to bring out into the open the veneration, the adoration and the idolation of the Negro woman. End quote. And while Dhonielle's high profile was no doubt instrumental in facilitating this change, she was by no means the only black model making history during this period.
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No, she was not. So before we move forward with her story, we would be remiss not to contextualize her achievements as part of a much larger radical shift in the global fashion industry that increasingly embraced Black models in the latter half of the 1960s. And while Black fashion models were certainly not new to the 60s, it was their rapidly increasing presence in once predominantly white fashion spaces so magazines, designer runways that really represented a drastic shift from years prior.
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And it should be noted that the increase of Black models in mainstream fashion publications cannot be divorced from the heightened visibility of Black women across the wider spectrum of pop culture outlets, something undeniably fostered from within Black communities and organizations themselves. And we see this with the popular appeal of everyone from various musicians, actresses, artists or political activists turned unlikely fashion icons such as Angela Davis to the Grandassa models, which of course we've already done an episode on. They were the all Black modeling troupe and agency that kickstarted the Black Is Beautiful movement of the 1960s and 70s. The evolution and transmission of soul style is a topic that we discuss in More detail with Dr. Tanisha C. Ford in our episode on her book, Liberated Black Women's Style and the Global Politics of Soul. If you would like to learn more on that topic specifically, you can go back to that episode.
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Yeah, and just a little correction, we haven't actually done an entire episode on the Grandassa models, although we probably should.
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Oh, sorry. Well, we have talked about them so many times now. I'm just thinking that we have done an entire episode.
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Yeah, and Tanisha talks about them so wonderfully in that Liberated Threads episode. So check it out if you want to learn more before we dedicate an entire episode to them, as we will at some point in 1969, Life magazine dedicated the COVID of its October 17, 1969 issue to, quote, black models take center stage with COVID star Naomi Sims, who's another pioneering model who of course deserves her own episode at some point. And earlier that same year, Time magazine also featured an extensive article on the changing face of the industry, writing, quote, in recent months, for the first time in their history, Mademoiselle and Ladies Home Journal have taken to using negro as well as white models on their covers. Black mannequins have appeared in almost every issue of Vogue and Bizarre for the past year. Of the 100 odd girls employed by the Ford Model Agency, New York's biggest and best known a dozen are now. Other formerly all white agencies have similarly integrated their rosters. And in the past three months, two new agencies have opened in Manhattan to handle black models.
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The article talks about a whole host of models, including Charlene Dash, Jolie Jones, who is the daughter of Quincy Jones, Carmen Bradshaw, Ann Fowler, Yanne Sangare, daughter of the Liberian Ambassador to Paris, the Haitian born Yanni Tomba, as well as Naomi Sims, who they call, quote, one of the most ubiquitous and highest paid fashion models in the world. End quote. Next to Dhonielle, of course. Right, Because Dhonielle's high profile made her undeniably instrumental in creating this momentous shift in representation in the fashion industry. Even if this is an accolade she herself shied away from a bit.
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Yes, in her 1966 Cosmo article that we've referenced many times, journalist Helen Lorenson specifically asked Danielle about what she thought about her role in bringing visibility and opportunity to black models. And Danielle actually somewhat evasively replied, saying that she didn't think being black had anything at all to do with her success. And despite her rejection of the quote, unquote role model label rights historian Richard Powell Luna is forever linked to those 1960s struggles for civil rights, her torso symbolically pushing beyond America's whites only entryways and preferential seats. When black women's faces were mostly confined to pancake boxes and jet magazine, her face form and name popped up in mainstream print media and films and on television, and always with a spectacular, simmering vengeance. End quote.
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Wow. I hope somebody describes me like that one day. Simmering vengeance. Danielle's daughter dream also addresses her mother's role as an unintentional advocate. Quote. As the civil rights movement gathered pace, so too did society's fascination with the exotic and the alien. Those are both in quotes. The world was in the middle of a cultural revolution, and my mother was on the front lines of the swinging 60s. Almost against her own will, she became a symbol. End quote. So whether or not Danielle publicly acknowledged this wider significance of her success, she clearly understood the power of representation. For instance, when Laurenson asked her if she was interested in the civil rights movement, she replied, quote, I don't like crowds, and I don't see any good in marching en masse to some place. I don't believe in violence on either side. I think I can do more good by becoming terribly famous and successful, end quote.
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And she was not wrong. By 1966, she was internationally recognized. 1967, Dhonielle made history again by becoming the first black model to have a rootstein mannequin made of her likeness. And as our listeners may remember from last week's episode on Adele, rootstein. This is an honor afforded to two past dress guests, Pat Cleveland and Zaldi, both who have rootstein mannequins made of their likeness.
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Mm. So, needless to say, within just a few short years, Dhonielle was everywhere. From a mannequin in department stores, a fashion star featured in fashion magazines, and on the Runway, where she could be found modeling for the era's great fashion designers, including Andre Courreges, Yves Saint Laurent, Valentino, and Paco Rabanne. And despite her success, Dhonielle had never lost sight of her childhood dream to become an award winning actress. More on that after a brief sponsor break.
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In her extensive interview with Lorenson, Danielle reflected on her budding acting career. Quote, I turn down film offers all the time. I don't want bit parts. I started at the top in modeling and I want to start at the top in acting with something terrific. I'm writing my own film script and I want to star in it. End quote. So, you know, as we have already established, she had always dreamed of becoming an actress. And upon arriving in New York in 1964, she simultaneously pursued acting alongside modeling, taking classes and also joining the acting union.
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Yeah, and in fact, when photographer David McCabe made good on his promise and introduced her to fashion editors upon her arrival in New York, he also introduced her to people like Andy Warhol, who she immediately befriended and beguiled. She's actually featured in warhol photographs and 16 millimeter screen tests as well as his 1965 satire film Camp. And after moving to Europe in 1966, she appeared in two fashion related films, Antonioni's Blow up and the fashion satire Kiet Vu Polymegu, which I don't know if we've ever talked about this on the show, April, but you've seen this, right? At least the opening number.
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You always talk about it and I've never seen it. I'm so embarrassed to say, oh my.
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Gosh, you've got to see it because.
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I mean, maybe I'll put it on tonight while I'm making dinner.
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Yeah, it's, it's on YouTube too. We'll put a link in the show notes. But there's this opening scene and it's satire on fashion and the ridiculousness of fashion of the 1960s. There's this opening scene where they're making fun of Paco Rabanne who, you know, like was very revolutionary in that he used these like radical new, you know, he used metal materials, plastic and to create this armor in the 1960s, basically. And so Danielle comes out as one of these models that's measuring just like these huge pieces of sheet metal and they're like so sharp that the models are getting cut and they're bleeding anyways. It's just really funny. And she's in that. So check it out, jazz listeners.
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Ah, I will check it out alongside you listeners. So you're not alone in this venture. In 1967, the New York Times did a huge article on Danielle's film ambitions entitled Luna who dreamed of becoming Snow White. Interestingly enough, it opens with a quotation from Buddha. Surprisingly quote, the phenomena of life may be likened to a dream, a phantasm, a bubble, a shadow, the glistening dew or lightning flash and thus they ought to be contemplated, end quote. And explaining the quote's inclusion, the journalist writes, quote, these words may help in contemplating the phenomenon of an astonishingly long and skinny black girl from Detroit who dreamed of becoming Snow White, conceived of herself as somehow related to the pale glow of moonlight, blossomed over a night as a model on the COVID of Harper's Bazaar and will soon be seen as God's mistress in Otto Preminger's movie Skidoo. End quote. Which is another movie that I haven't seen and I clearly need to watch.
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Yeah, we're going to talk a little bit more about that, but first I want to talk about this wonderfully evocative description of the then only 22 year old Danielle. So here is Luna, quote, about to break into the movies at this momentous time in her life. She swoops in late, an incredible sight in a black velvet, purple silk lined cutaway jacket, bell bottom trousers, a vivid yellow turtleneck, enormous pink, jade, amber, glass and silver rings on eight fingers, a round gold quote unquote cast mark on her forehead. Luna's black hair is brushed tightly off her face and neatly tied in back. Her eyes are adroitly slanted with makeup, but the bright blue contact lenses mask her reactions. Luna's voice is low and vaguely foreign. Some never never landed lilt picked up in London, Paris and Rome. Rome, so full of love. Compared to the chaos here in nyc she is happy. Rather elegant so long as the talk is safely and personal.
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Despite the article's declarations of Danielle keeping it light and impersonal, it provides intimate glimpses into her personality, beliefs and explorations into discovering her spirituality and her identity. Quote. I'm a very sentimental person, she says, before talking about how her thoughts on spirituality, yoga and Buddhism gives her peace of mind. And then she discusses the benefits of lsd, saying, quote, I think it's great. I learned I like to live, I like to make love. I really do love somebody. I love flowers, I like the sky, I like bright colors, I like animals. It also showed me unhappy things, that I was stubborn, selfish, stupid, unreasonable, mean that I hurt other people, end quote. And after that, her then boyfriend, who was present, corrects her with a no you don't. To which she responds, no, I don't hurt them, but I could make them feel better. It showed me that I lived in a dream world and I don't know how to get out and I don't know why I'm in that dream world very rarely now, end quote.
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Her film roles might suggest differently. The focus of this article, as mentioned, is about Luna's role as God's mistress in this forthcoming Preminger movie. Skidoo. Interviewed for the article, the director says that he met his latest, quote, unquote discovery at a party thrown in New York for Twiggy. Which is where Danielle, a stunning Negro model whose face in hauteur and feline grace of Nefertiti, approached and invited him to a showing of a film by Andy Warhol. Preminger suggested that they come to his office instead. Luna and Warhol arrived with a half hour screen test for a mod Snow White. It was Luna's script, her idea of big camp to play towering Snow White. She showed great talent, said Preminger. Warhol just sat there with his black glasses, never saying a word.
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And I'm glad that Preminger sums up Skidoo, since I've never seen it as a story involving, quote, a confrontation of hippies with the establishment. But the establishment are gangsters who consider themselves very respectable and are proud of our society, end quote. It starred Jackie Gleason, Carol Channing, Groucho Marx as God and Danielle as the, quote, over sexed mistress who continually cheats on God. End quote. And critically speaking, the film was panned. Reviewing it in 1968, Roger Ebert wrote that it, quote, fails mostly because it lacks spirit, lacking any lightness or spontaneity.
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Which is a problem because it's a satire.
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Right, right, right. Well, I can't wait to see it and make my own mind up about that. But despite its theoretical failings, the film gave Danielle exposure as an actress. And at the close of the 1960s, she moved to Rome to film Federico Fellini's 1969 film Satiricon, which Cass, I think our audience and myself might need a little more information about because apparently this is the epitome of 1960s excess and reverie.
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Yes, it is. I haven't quite watched it yet, but I'm going to, especially after and our listeners probably will join me especially after you hear this synopsis. So Criterion Collection says of the film that, quote, Fellini's career achieved new levels of eccentricity and brilliance with this remarkable, controversial, extremely loose adaptation of Petronius's classical Roman satire written during the reign of Nero. An episodic barrage of sexual licentiousness, godless violence and eye catching grotesquery. Fellini's Satiricon follows the exploits of two pansexual young men, the handsome scholar Encolpius and his vulgar, insatiably lusty friend as Cletus. As they move through a landscape of freeform pagan excess, creating apparent chaos with exquisite control, Fellini constructs a weird old world that feels like science fiction. End quote. For her part, Danielle plays a bewitching sources onithea who after humiliating a sorcerer, is cursed to light fires for villagers with her genitalia.
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This movie sounds exactly right up my alley. So if you are noticing a common theme here in her roles, you are not mistaken. In 1972 she took on the overtly sexualized title role in Carmelo Bene's bizarre and psychedelic reimagining of the biblical tale of Salome. But it must be said that, well, of Danielle's film roles, which were frequently overly exoticized and also eroticized her, and there's a long history of using these methods to otherize and demean black women. But we also have to say something here about Danielle's agency because on more than one occasion she openly subverts these objectifying connotations by being empowered by her experiences of her role in Satiricon, for instance, she told the New York Times, quote, I flipped when I heard I was playing God's mistress. I thought that was the grooviest role in the world. In everything else, they only wanted me to be myself, a model for the first time. I can be someone. I've always wanted to play a sexy, seductive type of gangster girl. Now it's even better. It's God's girl.
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Yeah. So Dhonielle clearly felt in control of her character's representations and her captivating and alluring charm translates to seamlessly to the screen dream. Her daughter writes that quote, it is surreal to watch her move in these motion pictures, it's as if she's vibrating at a different frequency from those around her with an otherworldly quality to her beauty. End quote. And another example of Danielle's subversion of explicitly sexualized reductive casting is in her 1975 Playboy spread. So far from really being this reductive representation, she's photographed in a magical and mystical dreamscape, appearing as a mermaid, a cat and even an angel.
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Richard Powell speaks to Danielle's Playboy feature specifically in his article on black women artists, which we've mentioned previously, writing, quote, although fulfilling Playboy's prerequisite for female nudity, the photographs were far from titillating or sexually explicit. Luna seemed not only at ease with her nudity, but completely beyond societal structures and moral rectangular. Luna's linear body, anthetical to Playboy's voluptuous prototype, function more like a cipher than a sentient object of desire, suggesting ancient deities and an ascetic ritualistic actions. End quote. In the article, Daniela is quoted as saying, quote, I have many visions of myself when I go through photographic trips. I've gone through periods from Nefertiti to Josephine Baker, end quote. And as this quote suggests, Danielle was in control of her image.
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And Danielle was photographed for Playboy by her then husband, Luigi Casaniga, whom she had met and married while living in Rome. And as Dream writes of her parents, the two of them fell in love, indulged her creativity and traveled the world. While referencing the Playboy shoot, Dream illustrates that quote. Some of their best work, however, has not been published yet. A hand illustrated fairy tale, avant garde film scripts, beautiful colored prints painstakingly made in their own dark room. Even now, when I look at those objects, their creativity strikes me and I can hear her heartbeat reverberating down through the decades. And of course, the couple welcomed their daughter in 1977 and her name was inspired by Martin Luther King's I have a dream speech.
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Ah, I didn't know that. That's nice dress. Listeners, we will be back in March 2025 with a brand new season of Dressed. But you don't have to wait until then to indulge your fashion history appetite.
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Because not only do we have 500 plus episodes in the Dressed Archive for you to explore, but registration is also open now for our brand new online course, the 1950s golden age of Haute couture, which is coming your way very soon. On February 2, as well as our ultra exclusive jam packed New York City day tours coming your way April 9th, 10th and 11th of this year, we are so excited for this year's lineup.
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Join us in stepping back in time and into the beating heart of the American fashion industry with three days of exclusive behind the scenes access you won't find anywhere else. From world class fashion collections at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum at FIT to the famed Garment District, this once in a lifetime experience is filled with incredibly special experiences where we will meet museum curators, expert fashion makers and more than a few past dressed guests.
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Make that eight past dressed guest to be exact, April. All of whom dress listeners will be contributing their unique expertise to this incredibly special trip with your fellow fashion history lovers and of course your favorite fashion history podcasters. So head to dress history.com to reserve your spot now and get dressed with us in New York City.
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Despite pursuing her first dream of becoming an actress, Danielle's star would dramatically fade throughout the 1970s. Her focus on film work inevitably meant that she spent less time modeling, which kept her out of the public eye for extended periods of time. And when she appeared in a Halston Runway show in 1974, Womenswear Daily referred to her as a has been, one article reads, quote, former top model Danielle Luna appeared on the New York scene in his AKA Halston hooded sequin caftan. She undulated down the Runway, glided down to the floor and then opened and intently studied the empty silver ball she carried and started to crawl. After five minutes, she had only covered half the Runway, so he sent out two more models to step things up.
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So clearly this was a far cry from the spellbinding and enraptured performances Danielle gave on the Runway at the height of her career in the 1960s. This is actually something Bill Cunningham would reflect on just a few years later in his 1979 article for the Daily News entitled Black Is Beautiful Now How Black Models Made Their Way onto High Fashion Runway Runways. And he writes, quote, the curtain parts and the white model dominate A fashion world is confronted by the first ethereal African queen image. Her body moves like a panther, her arms the wings of an exotic, exotic bird. The long neck suggests a black trumpet swan. The audience responds with shattering applause for the model's performance rather than the designer's clothes. It is the birth of a new fashion era. End quote. But sadly, even after all of her successes, the 1970s were just not good to Danielle Luna, something Powell attributes in part to Danielle herself, who, he writes, was, quote, implicated partially in the disappearance of her own image due to her decision to focus on her career on acting and mostly experimental films and what he calls, quote an essentially racist motion picture industry. End quote. As well as her refusal to engage with, quote, the race centered body discourses that erupted in the United States in the late 1960s.
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Bipel ultimately attributes Danielle's fall from favor throughout the 1970s to, quote, the destructive nexus of sexism, social and cultural dissolution in her adopted Italian home base and a peculiar European brand of racism. End quote. He continues on these impediments united to diminish and obscure her once impressive figure, which then led her to public erasure and tragically, her death from a drug overdose in 1979. This is very sad. Danielle was only 32 years old.
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Such a tragedy, untimely loss. And Danielle's contemporary fellow model and friend Pat Cleveland remembers Danielle as, quote, a poet, a love child, one of those people who really lived in a dream world. She was really the princess of fashion. She was above everything not of this earth. Then the drug world took her away. She let her real self be seen by me, but she never would come out of that other world. She's one of those beauties that got trapped in the world of pleasure and passed away. End quote.
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As her daughter dream reminds us, Luna's death was a tragic accident. End quote. Despite stories in the press about the last years of her life, my father has told me that she was dynamic and creative until the end. I see how true that is. When I look at the photographs of her stretched out theatrically on a pile of notebooks and diaries on Long island beach. You can feel how vibrant, present and totally connected to life she is. End quote.
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And this vibrancy is what still resonates with so many of us today. A time where her legacy is very much alive and well. She was undeniably instrumental in laying the groundwork for the thriving careers of black models and actresses who continue to follow in her footsteps. Most recently, Zendaya teamed up with celebrity stylist Law Roach to pay homage to Danielle and he stunning multi page spread for Essence magazine in celebration of the magazine's 50th anniversary. Photographed by Ahmad Barber and Dante Maurice, the shoot recreates many of Danielle's most popular photo shoots and a potent reminder of just how magnetic, enchanting and talented Dhonielle truly was. Gone but not forgotten. Dhonielle Luna is one star who continues to shine bright.
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Well, that does it for us today dressed listeners. May you remember the life legacy and the magic of Danielle Luna next time you get dressed. Remember, we love hearing from you. So if you would like to write to us, you can do so at. Hellores history.com dress history.com is also where of course you can register for our tours, our trips, our new class, anything else that we have up are finely tailored sleeves.
[28:58]
A
That includes April's twice weekly in person Fashion History tours of the Metropolitan Museum of Art as well as our brand new dress to School of Fashion live online course the 1950s Golden Age Haute Couture which is now open for registration. And we do have gift cards available for both April's tours and the class, so just send us an email@hellorusthistory.com and also send us an email if you want to get on the first to know list. We're our New York City Day tours coming your way in April 2025 and our Paris Fashion History tours coming your way in June. Registration for both of these tours will open in January and we do expect them to sell out, so send us an email to get on those lists.
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Thank you as always for your continued support. Dressed will be coming back your way for season eight in early February. The History of Fashion is a production of Dressed Media.

Summary6 min read

Donyale Luna: Myth, Model, Muse, Part II – A Detailed Summary

Dressed Media's "Dressed: The History of Fashion" delves deep into the life and legacy of Donyale Luna, the first Black model to grace the cover of Vogue. In this second part of the two-part series, hosts April Callahan and Cassidy Zachary explore Luna's groundbreaking career, her foray into acting, the challenges she faced in the 1970s, and her enduring legacy in the fashion world.

1. Contextualizing Black Models in the 1960s Fashion Industry

April Callahan and Cassidy Zachary open the episode by situating Donyale Luna's achievements within a broader movement of increased visibility for Black models in the 1960s. They emphasize that while Luna was a pioneering figure, she was part of a larger shift where the fashion industry began embracing diversity.

[02:27] B: "The increase of Black models in mainstream fashion publications cannot be divorced from the heightened visibility of Black women across the wider spectrum of pop culture outlets."

The hosts reference the Grandassa Models, an all-Black modeling troupe and agency instrumental in the Black Is Beautiful movement, highlighting the collective efforts that paved the way for Luna and her contemporaries.

2. Donyale Luna's Ascendancy in Fashion

The episode underscores Luna's meteoric rise after becoming the first Black model on the cover of British Vogue in 1966. Time magazine lauded her impact, recognizing her role in reshaping the image of Black women in fashion.

[01:22] B: "Fashion finds itself in an instrumental position for changing history... about to bring out into the open the veneration, the adoration and the idolization of the Negro woman."

Despite her monumental status, Luna remained humble about her role as a trailblazer. In a 1966 Cosmopolitan interview, she downplayed the significance of her race in her success:

[05:12] A: "I don't think being black had anything at all to do with my success."

However, her legacy is undeniable. Historian Richard Powell notes that Luna's presence in predominantly white fashion spaces was a symbolic breakthrough during the civil rights era.

3. Luna's Pursuit of Acting and Artistic Ambitions

Luna was not content with her success in modeling alone. She aspired to become an award-winning actress, actively pursuing roles alongside her modeling career. Her move to New York in 1964 marked the beginning of her dual pursuits in modeling and acting.

[11:21] B: "Danielle turns down film offers all the time. I don't want bit parts. I started at the top in modeling and I want to start at the top in acting with something terrific."

Her connections with influential figures like Andy Warhol led to appearances in his projects, including his 1965 satire film Camp. Luna's collaborations extended to prominent directors such as Otto Preminger, resulting in roles that, while controversial, showcased her versatility and ambition.

In Otto Preminger’s Skidoo, Luna played God's mistress, a role that, despite the film's critical panning, provided her with significant exposure:

[17:10] B: "It starred Jackie Gleason, Carol Channing, Groucho Marx as God and Danielle as the over-sexed mistress who continually cheats on God."

Furthermore, her role in Federico Fellini's Satiricon (1969) positioned her within the avant-garde cinematic landscape, though it also marked the beginning of her career's complex trajectory.

4. Control Over Her Image and Representation

Luna was fiercely protective of her image, using her platform to navigate and subvert the often objectifying portrayals of Black women in media. Her 1975 Playboy photoshoot is a testament to this control, where she portrayed herself as mystical and powerful figures rather than mere objects of desire.

[21:12] B: "Although fulfilling Playboy's prerequisite for female nudity, the photographs were far from titillating or sexually explicit. Luna seemed not only at ease with her nudity but completely beyond societal structures and moral rectangular."

Luna's ability to curate her image extended to her personal life. Photographed by her husband, Luigi Casaniga, Luna appeared as ethereal and otherworldly, reinforcing her status as a fashion icon with depth and agency.

5. Challenges and Decline in the 1970s

Despite her early successes, Luna's career faced significant challenges in the 1970s. Her decision to prioritize acting over modeling led to diminished presence in the fashion industry. A notable example of this decline is her 1974 appearance in a Halston runway show, which was poorly received:

[24:17] B: "Former top model Danielle Luna appeared on the New York scene in his AKA Halston hooded sequin caftan... she started to crawl. After five minutes, she had only covered half the Runway."

Fashion historian Bill Cunningham reflects on this period, noting that the fashion world began to overlook Black models like Luna despite their groundbreaking contributions.

[25:08] A: "The curtain parts and the white model dominate... It is the birth of a new fashion era."

Scholars like Powell attribute Luna's fading fame to a combination of personal choices, including her focus on experimental films, and systemic issues within the motion picture industry, which Powell describes as "essentially racist."

6. Tragic End and Lasting Legacy

Luna's life was tragically cut short in 1979 due to a drug overdose at the age of 32. Despite rumors and media speculation, her daughter, Dream, clarifies that Luna remained dynamic and creative until her untimely death.

[27:18] B: "Despite stories in the press about the last years of her life, my father has told me that she was dynamic and creative until the end."

Her legacy, however, continues to inspire. Recent tributes, such as Zendaya's homage in Essence Magazine, celebrate Luna's enduring influence on fashion and representation.

[27:43] A: "Zendaya teamed up with celebrity stylist Law Roach to pay homage to Danielle in a stunning multi-page spread for Essence magazine... a potent reminder of just how magnetic, enchanting, and talented Dhonielle truly was."

Luna's contributions laid the groundwork for future generations of Black models and actresses, ensuring that her impact on the fashion industry remains significant.

7. Conclusion: Remembering Donyale Luna

Callahan and Zachary conclude the episode by reflecting on Luna's vibrant spirit and lasting influence. They emphasize that while Luna's life was marked by both triumph and tragedy, her legacy as a trailblazer in fashion and a symbol of empowerment endures.

[28:29] B: "May you remember the life, legacy, and the magic of Danielle Luna the next time you get dressed."

Listeners are encouraged to explore Dressed Media's extensive archives and upcoming offerings to further engage with fashion history and Luna's remarkable story.

Notable Quotes:

Time Magazine on Luna's Impact (01:22):

"Fashion finds itself in an instrumental position for changing history... about to bring out into the open the veneration, the adoration and the idolization of the Negro woman."
Danielle's Humble Reflection (05:12):

"I don't think being black had anything at all to do with my success."
Dream on Luna's Symbolic Role (06:00):

"As the civil rights movement gathered pace, so too did society's fascination with the exotic and the alien...almost against her own will, she became a symbol."
Richard Powell on Luna's Playboy Feature (21:12):

"Although fulfilling Playboy's prerequisite for female nudity, the photographs were far from titillating or sexually explicit... suggesting ancient deities and an ascetic ritualistic actions."

Further Engagement:

Listeners interested in exploring more about Luna and the broader context of Black models in fashion are encouraged to visit dresshistory.com for access to over 500 episodes, online fashion history classes, and exclusive tours in Paris and New York City.

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Transcript56 lines

[00:00]
A
Please enjoy this episode from the Dressed archive of over 500 plus shows. Dressed will be back with all new content in March of 2025. Until then, consider heading to DressedHistory.com to explore our latest online fashion history classes and in person tours of Paris and New York City. More from Dressed coming your way. Over 7 billion people in the world. We all have one thing in common. Every day we all get dressed welcome.
[00:43]
B
To Dressed the History of Fashion, a podcast where we explore the who, what, when of why we wear. We are fashion historians and your hosts.
[00:51]
A
April Callahan and Cassidy Zachary. Welcome Dress listeners to Part two of our two part episode on the supermodel sensation Don Yell Luna. On Tuesday's episode, as you remember, we barely scratched the surface of Danielle's career. We ended in 1966, the year that the 20 year old enjoyed a seemingly instant overnight rise to fame after becoming the first Black model and first model of color ever to appear on the COVID of any edition of Vogue magazine. With her March British Vogue issue debut.
[01:23]
B
In their 1966 article the Luna Year, Time magazine credited Dhonielle with setting the standard for a completely new image of Black women in the fashion industry, writing that, quote, fashion finds itself in an instrumental position for changing history, however slightly. For in the industry's promotion of Danielle Luna, it is about to bring out into the open the veneration, the adoration and the idolation of the Negro woman. End quote. And while Dhonielle's high profile was no doubt instrumental in facilitating this change, she was by no means the only black model making history during this period.
[01:59]
A
No, she was not. So before we move forward with her story, we would be remiss not to contextualize her achievements as part of a much larger radical shift in the global fashion industry that increasingly embraced Black models in the latter half of the 1960s. And while Black fashion models were certainly not new to the 60s, it was their rapidly increasing presence in once predominantly white fashion spaces so magazines, designer runways that really represented a drastic shift from years prior.
[02:27]
B
And it should be noted that the increase of Black models in mainstream fashion publications cannot be divorced from the heightened visibility of Black women across the wider spectrum of pop culture outlets, something undeniably fostered from within Black communities and organizations themselves. And we see this with the popular appeal of everyone from various musicians, actresses, artists or political activists turned unlikely fashion icons such as Angela Davis to the Grandassa models, which of course we've already done an episode on. They were the all Black modeling troupe and agency that kickstarted the Black Is Beautiful movement of the 1960s and 70s. The evolution and transmission of soul style is a topic that we discuss in More detail with Dr. Tanisha C. Ford in our episode on her book, Liberated Black Women's Style and the Global Politics of Soul. If you would like to learn more on that topic specifically, you can go back to that episode.
[03:23]
A
Yeah, and just a little correction, we haven't actually done an entire episode on the Grandassa models, although we probably should.
[03:30]
B
Oh, sorry. Well, we have talked about them so many times now. I'm just thinking that we have done an entire episode.
[03:36]
A
Yeah, and Tanisha talks about them so wonderfully in that Liberated Threads episode. So check it out if you want to learn more before we dedicate an entire episode to them, as we will at some point in 1969, Life magazine dedicated the COVID of its October 17, 1969 issue to, quote, black models take center stage with COVID star Naomi Sims, who's another pioneering model who of course deserves her own episode at some point. And earlier that same year, Time magazine also featured an extensive article on the changing face of the industry, writing, quote, in recent months, for the first time in their history, Mademoiselle and Ladies Home Journal have taken to using negro as well as white models on their covers. Black mannequins have appeared in almost every issue of Vogue and Bizarre for the past year. Of the 100 odd girls employed by the Ford Model Agency, New York's biggest and best known a dozen are now. Other formerly all white agencies have similarly integrated their rosters. And in the past three months, two new agencies have opened in Manhattan to handle black models.
[04:36]
B
The article talks about a whole host of models, including Charlene Dash, Jolie Jones, who is the daughter of Quincy Jones, Carmen Bradshaw, Ann Fowler, Yanne Sangare, daughter of the Liberian Ambassador to Paris, the Haitian born Yanni Tomba, as well as Naomi Sims, who they call, quote, one of the most ubiquitous and highest paid fashion models in the world. End quote. Next to Dhonielle, of course. Right, Because Dhonielle's high profile made her undeniably instrumental in creating this momentous shift in representation in the fashion industry. Even if this is an accolade she herself shied away from a bit.
[05:13]
A
Yes, in her 1966 Cosmo article that we've referenced many times, journalist Helen Lorenson specifically asked Danielle about what she thought about her role in bringing visibility and opportunity to black models. And Danielle actually somewhat evasively replied, saying that she didn't think being black had anything at all to do with her success. And despite her rejection of the quote, unquote role model label rights historian Richard Powell Luna is forever linked to those 1960s struggles for civil rights, her torso symbolically pushing beyond America's whites only entryways and preferential seats. When black women's faces were mostly confined to pancake boxes and jet magazine, her face form and name popped up in mainstream print media and films and on television, and always with a spectacular, simmering vengeance. End quote.
[06:00]
B
Wow. I hope somebody describes me like that one day. Simmering vengeance. Danielle's daughter dream also addresses her mother's role as an unintentional advocate. Quote. As the civil rights movement gathered pace, so too did society's fascination with the exotic and the alien. Those are both in quotes. The world was in the middle of a cultural revolution, and my mother was on the front lines of the swinging 60s. Almost against her own will, she became a symbol. End quote. So whether or not Danielle publicly acknowledged this wider significance of her success, she clearly understood the power of representation. For instance, when Laurenson asked her if she was interested in the civil rights movement, she replied, quote, I don't like crowds, and I don't see any good in marching en masse to some place. I don't believe in violence on either side. I think I can do more good by becoming terribly famous and successful, end quote.
[06:56]
A
And she was not wrong. By 1966, she was internationally recognized. 1967, Dhonielle made history again by becoming the first black model to have a rootstein mannequin made of her likeness. And as our listeners may remember from last week's episode on Adele, rootstein. This is an honor afforded to two past dress guests, Pat Cleveland and Zaldi, both who have rootstein mannequins made of their likeness.
[07:21]
B
Mm. So, needless to say, within just a few short years, Dhonielle was everywhere. From a mannequin in department stores, a fashion star featured in fashion magazines, and on the Runway, where she could be found modeling for the era's great fashion designers, including Andre Courreges, Yves Saint Laurent, Valentino, and Paco Rabanne. And despite her success, Dhonielle had never lost sight of her childhood dream to become an award winning actress. More on that after a brief sponsor break.
[07:54]
A
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B
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[11:21]
B
In her extensive interview with Lorenson, Danielle reflected on her budding acting career. Quote, I turn down film offers all the time. I don't want bit parts. I started at the top in modeling and I want to start at the top in acting with something terrific. I'm writing my own film script and I want to star in it. End quote. So, you know, as we have already established, she had always dreamed of becoming an actress. And upon arriving in New York in 1964, she simultaneously pursued acting alongside modeling, taking classes and also joining the acting union.
[11:53]
A
Yeah, and in fact, when photographer David McCabe made good on his promise and introduced her to fashion editors upon her arrival in New York, he also introduced her to people like Andy Warhol, who she immediately befriended and beguiled. She's actually featured in warhol photographs and 16 millimeter screen tests as well as his 1965 satire film Camp. And after moving to Europe in 1966, she appeared in two fashion related films, Antonioni's Blow up and the fashion satire Kiet Vu Polymegu, which I don't know if we've ever talked about this on the show, April, but you've seen this, right? At least the opening number.
[12:32]
B
You always talk about it and I've never seen it. I'm so embarrassed to say, oh my.
[12:38]
A
Gosh, you've got to see it because.
[12:39]
B
I mean, maybe I'll put it on tonight while I'm making dinner.
[12:43]
A
Yeah, it's, it's on YouTube too. We'll put a link in the show notes. But there's this opening scene and it's satire on fashion and the ridiculousness of fashion of the 1960s. There's this opening scene where they're making fun of Paco Rabanne who, you know, like was very revolutionary in that he used these like radical new, you know, he used metal materials, plastic and to create this armor in the 1960s, basically. And so Danielle comes out as one of these models that's measuring just like these huge pieces of sheet metal and they're like so sharp that the models are getting cut and they're bleeding anyways. It's just really funny. And she's in that. So check it out, jazz listeners.
[13:22]
B
Ah, I will check it out alongside you listeners. So you're not alone in this venture. In 1967, the New York Times did a huge article on Danielle's film ambitions entitled Luna who dreamed of becoming Snow White. Interestingly enough, it opens with a quotation from Buddha. Surprisingly quote, the phenomena of life may be likened to a dream, a phantasm, a bubble, a shadow, the glistening dew or lightning flash and thus they ought to be contemplated, end quote. And explaining the quote's inclusion, the journalist writes, quote, these words may help in contemplating the phenomenon of an astonishingly long and skinny black girl from Detroit who dreamed of becoming Snow White, conceived of herself as somehow related to the pale glow of moonlight, blossomed over a night as a model on the COVID of Harper's Bazaar and will soon be seen as God's mistress in Otto Preminger's movie Skidoo. End quote. Which is another movie that I haven't seen and I clearly need to watch.
[14:24]
A
Yeah, we're going to talk a little bit more about that, but first I want to talk about this wonderfully evocative description of the then only 22 year old Danielle. So here is Luna, quote, about to break into the movies at this momentous time in her life. She swoops in late, an incredible sight in a black velvet, purple silk lined cutaway jacket, bell bottom trousers, a vivid yellow turtleneck, enormous pink, jade, amber, glass and silver rings on eight fingers, a round gold quote unquote cast mark on her forehead. Luna's black hair is brushed tightly off her face and neatly tied in back. Her eyes are adroitly slanted with makeup, but the bright blue contact lenses mask her reactions. Luna's voice is low and vaguely foreign. Some never never landed lilt picked up in London, Paris and Rome. Rome, so full of love. Compared to the chaos here in nyc she is happy. Rather elegant so long as the talk is safely and personal.
[15:20]
B
Despite the article's declarations of Danielle keeping it light and impersonal, it provides intimate glimpses into her personality, beliefs and explorations into discovering her spirituality and her identity. Quote. I'm a very sentimental person, she says, before talking about how her thoughts on spirituality, yoga and Buddhism gives her peace of mind. And then she discusses the benefits of lsd, saying, quote, I think it's great. I learned I like to live, I like to make love. I really do love somebody. I love flowers, I like the sky, I like bright colors, I like animals. It also showed me unhappy things, that I was stubborn, selfish, stupid, unreasonable, mean that I hurt other people, end quote. And after that, her then boyfriend, who was present, corrects her with a no you don't. To which she responds, no, I don't hurt them, but I could make them feel better. It showed me that I lived in a dream world and I don't know how to get out and I don't know why I'm in that dream world very rarely now, end quote.
[16:21]
A
Her film roles might suggest differently. The focus of this article, as mentioned, is about Luna's role as God's mistress in this forthcoming Preminger movie. Skidoo. Interviewed for the article, the director says that he met his latest, quote, unquote discovery at a party thrown in New York for Twiggy. Which is where Danielle, a stunning Negro model whose face in hauteur and feline grace of Nefertiti, approached and invited him to a showing of a film by Andy Warhol. Preminger suggested that they come to his office instead. Luna and Warhol arrived with a half hour screen test for a mod Snow White. It was Luna's script, her idea of big camp to play towering Snow White. She showed great talent, said Preminger. Warhol just sat there with his black glasses, never saying a word.
[17:10]
B
And I'm glad that Preminger sums up Skidoo, since I've never seen it as a story involving, quote, a confrontation of hippies with the establishment. But the establishment are gangsters who consider themselves very respectable and are proud of our society, end quote. It starred Jackie Gleason, Carol Channing, Groucho Marx as God and Danielle as the, quote, over sexed mistress who continually cheats on God. End quote. And critically speaking, the film was panned. Reviewing it in 1968, Roger Ebert wrote that it, quote, fails mostly because it lacks spirit, lacking any lightness or spontaneity.
[17:50]
A
Which is a problem because it's a satire.
[17:53]
B
Right, right, right. Well, I can't wait to see it and make my own mind up about that. But despite its theoretical failings, the film gave Danielle exposure as an actress. And at the close of the 1960s, she moved to Rome to film Federico Fellini's 1969 film Satiricon, which Cass, I think our audience and myself might need a little more information about because apparently this is the epitome of 1960s excess and reverie.
[18:21]
A
Yes, it is. I haven't quite watched it yet, but I'm going to, especially after and our listeners probably will join me especially after you hear this synopsis. So Criterion Collection says of the film that, quote, Fellini's career achieved new levels of eccentricity and brilliance with this remarkable, controversial, extremely loose adaptation of Petronius's classical Roman satire written during the reign of Nero. An episodic barrage of sexual licentiousness, godless violence and eye catching grotesquery. Fellini's Satiricon follows the exploits of two pansexual young men, the handsome scholar Encolpius and his vulgar, insatiably lusty friend as Cletus. As they move through a landscape of freeform pagan excess, creating apparent chaos with exquisite control, Fellini constructs a weird old world that feels like science fiction. End quote. For her part, Danielle plays a bewitching sources onithea who after humiliating a sorcerer, is cursed to light fires for villagers with her genitalia.
[19:27]
B
This movie sounds exactly right up my alley. So if you are noticing a common theme here in her roles, you are not mistaken. In 1972 she took on the overtly sexualized title role in Carmelo Bene's bizarre and psychedelic reimagining of the biblical tale of Salome. But it must be said that, well, of Danielle's film roles, which were frequently overly exoticized and also eroticized her, and there's a long history of using these methods to otherize and demean black women. But we also have to say something here about Danielle's agency because on more than one occasion she openly subverts these objectifying connotations by being empowered by her experiences of her role in Satiricon, for instance, she told the New York Times, quote, I flipped when I heard I was playing God's mistress. I thought that was the grooviest role in the world. In everything else, they only wanted me to be myself, a model for the first time. I can be someone. I've always wanted to play a sexy, seductive type of gangster girl. Now it's even better. It's God's girl.
[20:34]
A
Yeah. So Dhonielle clearly felt in control of her character's representations and her captivating and alluring charm translates to seamlessly to the screen dream. Her daughter writes that quote, it is surreal to watch her move in these motion pictures, it's as if she's vibrating at a different frequency from those around her with an otherworldly quality to her beauty. End quote. And another example of Danielle's subversion of explicitly sexualized reductive casting is in her 1975 Playboy spread. So far from really being this reductive representation, she's photographed in a magical and mystical dreamscape, appearing as a mermaid, a cat and even an angel.
[21:13]
B
Richard Powell speaks to Danielle's Playboy feature specifically in his article on black women artists, which we've mentioned previously, writing, quote, although fulfilling Playboy's prerequisite for female nudity, the photographs were far from titillating or sexually explicit. Luna seemed not only at ease with her nudity, but completely beyond societal structures and moral rectangular. Luna's linear body, anthetical to Playboy's voluptuous prototype, function more like a cipher than a sentient object of desire, suggesting ancient deities and an ascetic ritualistic actions. End quote. In the article, Daniela is quoted as saying, quote, I have many visions of myself when I go through photographic trips. I've gone through periods from Nefertiti to Josephine Baker, end quote. And as this quote suggests, Danielle was in control of her image.
[22:03]
A
And Danielle was photographed for Playboy by her then husband, Luigi Casaniga, whom she had met and married while living in Rome. And as Dream writes of her parents, the two of them fell in love, indulged her creativity and traveled the world. While referencing the Playboy shoot, Dream illustrates that quote. Some of their best work, however, has not been published yet. A hand illustrated fairy tale, avant garde film scripts, beautiful colored prints painstakingly made in their own dark room. Even now, when I look at those objects, their creativity strikes me and I can hear her heartbeat reverberating down through the decades. And of course, the couple welcomed their daughter in 1977 and her name was inspired by Martin Luther King's I have a dream speech.
[22:45]
B
Ah, I didn't know that. That's nice dress. Listeners, we will be back in March 2025 with a brand new season of Dressed. But you don't have to wait until then to indulge your fashion history appetite.
[22:59]
A
Because not only do we have 500 plus episodes in the Dressed Archive for you to explore, but registration is also open now for our brand new online course, the 1950s golden age of Haute couture, which is coming your way very soon. On February 2, as well as our ultra exclusive jam packed New York City day tours coming your way April 9th, 10th and 11th of this year, we are so excited for this year's lineup.
[23:24]
B
Join us in stepping back in time and into the beating heart of the American fashion industry with three days of exclusive behind the scenes access you won't find anywhere else. From world class fashion collections at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum at FIT to the famed Garment District, this once in a lifetime experience is filled with incredibly special experiences where we will meet museum curators, expert fashion makers and more than a few past dressed guests.
[23:53]
A
Make that eight past dressed guest to be exact, April. All of whom dress listeners will be contributing their unique expertise to this incredibly special trip with your fellow fashion history lovers and of course your favorite fashion history podcasters. So head to dress history.com to reserve your spot now and get dressed with us in New York City.
[24:18]
B
Despite pursuing her first dream of becoming an actress, Danielle's star would dramatically fade throughout the 1970s. Her focus on film work inevitably meant that she spent less time modeling, which kept her out of the public eye for extended periods of time. And when she appeared in a Halston Runway show in 1974, Womenswear Daily referred to her as a has been, one article reads, quote, former top model Danielle Luna appeared on the New York scene in his AKA Halston hooded sequin caftan. She undulated down the Runway, glided down to the floor and then opened and intently studied the empty silver ball she carried and started to crawl. After five minutes, she had only covered half the Runway, so he sent out two more models to step things up.
[25:09]
A
So clearly this was a far cry from the spellbinding and enraptured performances Danielle gave on the Runway at the height of her career in the 1960s. This is actually something Bill Cunningham would reflect on just a few years later in his 1979 article for the Daily News entitled Black Is Beautiful Now How Black Models Made Their Way onto High Fashion Runway Runways. And he writes, quote, the curtain parts and the white model dominate A fashion world is confronted by the first ethereal African queen image. Her body moves like a panther, her arms the wings of an exotic, exotic bird. The long neck suggests a black trumpet swan. The audience responds with shattering applause for the model's performance rather than the designer's clothes. It is the birth of a new fashion era. End quote. But sadly, even after all of her successes, the 1970s were just not good to Danielle Luna, something Powell attributes in part to Danielle herself, who, he writes, was, quote, implicated partially in the disappearance of her own image due to her decision to focus on her career on acting and mostly experimental films and what he calls, quote an essentially racist motion picture industry. End quote. As well as her refusal to engage with, quote, the race centered body discourses that erupted in the United States in the late 1960s.
[26:21]
B
Bipel ultimately attributes Danielle's fall from favor throughout the 1970s to, quote, the destructive nexus of sexism, social and cultural dissolution in her adopted Italian home base and a peculiar European brand of racism. End quote. He continues on these impediments united to diminish and obscure her once impressive figure, which then led her to public erasure and tragically, her death from a drug overdose in 1979. This is very sad. Danielle was only 32 years old.
[26:52]
A
Such a tragedy, untimely loss. And Danielle's contemporary fellow model and friend Pat Cleveland remembers Danielle as, quote, a poet, a love child, one of those people who really lived in a dream world. She was really the princess of fashion. She was above everything not of this earth. Then the drug world took her away. She let her real self be seen by me, but she never would come out of that other world. She's one of those beauties that got trapped in the world of pleasure and passed away. End quote.
[27:19]
B
As her daughter dream reminds us, Luna's death was a tragic accident. End quote. Despite stories in the press about the last years of her life, my father has told me that she was dynamic and creative until the end. I see how true that is. When I look at the photographs of her stretched out theatrically on a pile of notebooks and diaries on Long island beach. You can feel how vibrant, present and totally connected to life she is. End quote.
[27:43]
A
And this vibrancy is what still resonates with so many of us today. A time where her legacy is very much alive and well. She was undeniably instrumental in laying the groundwork for the thriving careers of black models and actresses who continue to follow in her footsteps. Most recently, Zendaya teamed up with celebrity stylist Law Roach to pay homage to Danielle and he stunning multi page spread for Essence magazine in celebration of the magazine's 50th anniversary. Photographed by Ahmad Barber and Dante Maurice, the shoot recreates many of Danielle's most popular photo shoots and a potent reminder of just how magnetic, enchanting and talented Dhonielle truly was. Gone but not forgotten. Dhonielle Luna is one star who continues to shine bright.
[28:29]
B
Well, that does it for us today dressed listeners. May you remember the life legacy and the magic of Danielle Luna next time you get dressed. Remember, we love hearing from you. So if you would like to write to us, you can do so at. Hellores history.com dress history.com is also where of course you can register for our tours, our trips, our new class, anything else that we have up are finely tailored sleeves.
[28:58]
A
That includes April's twice weekly in person Fashion History tours of the Metropolitan Museum of Art as well as our brand new dress to School of Fashion live online course the 1950s Golden Age Haute Couture which is now open for registration. And we do have gift cards available for both April's tours and the class, so just send us an email@hellorusthistory.com and also send us an email if you want to get on the first to know list. We're our New York City Day tours coming your way in April 2025 and our Paris Fashion History tours coming your way in June. Registration for both of these tours will open in January and we do expect them to sell out, so send us an email to get on those lists.
[29:37]
B
Thank you as always for your continued support. Dressed will be coming back your way for season eight in early February. The History of Fashion is a production of Dressed Media.