Monday, November 7, 2011

BLONDE NOT BLAND

CHINA MACHADO
Elizabeth Arden's "Pure Pink"
Hat by Emme
RICHARD AVEDON

September 1958:  The day after arriving in America from France, China (pronounced Cheena) Machado walked into the office of then Harper's Bazaar fashion editor, Diana Vreeland.

Born in Shanghai of a Portuguese father and a Siamese mother, Machado was schooled throughout the world and spoke seven languages. She had appeared in three European films and modeled in Madrid, Florence, London, and in Paris, where she was Givenchy’s top model.

Vreeland, whose discerning eye for the new, the now, and the fashionable, made a career launching the talents of models, designers and photographers from her perch at the pinnacle of the New York publication world. She immediately persuaded China to appear at the Fashion Group's Paris showing the next morning.

Totally unrehearsed, Machado made her mark, quickly becoming one of the American fashion scene’s most magnificent mannequins. Days later, Richard Avedon spotted Machado at the Museum of Modern Art and wasted no time getting her in front of his camera. His portfolio of her poses for the new "blonde" fashions appeared in the Harper's Bazaar "Blondes Preferred" issue of February 1959.

THE PALE,PALE COLORS
SARMI
RICHARD AVEDON
ZELINKA-MATLICK
RICHARD AVEDON
BEN ZUCKERMAN
RICHARD AVEDON

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