Audrey Smaltz (1937-) is so famous in the world of fashion that I’m embarrassed I only recently learned about her. In my quest for older women who think fashion is fun, I came across her name in Simon Doonan’s book Wacky Chicks: Life Lessons from Fearlessly Inappropriate and Fabulously Eccentric Women. I’m not sure she fits in all those categories, but she has an amazing life story.
Born in Harlem in 1937, she began her fashion career New York. In her thirties, she moved to Chicago and became a fashion editor for Ebony. One of her jobs was to host the Ebony Fashion Fair, a mobile fashion show that traveled around the country showing the latest styles to Black audiences.
After seven years with Ebony, she founded her own company, Ground Crew, which organizes the back stage for all kinds of fashion shoots and fashion shows. In this capacity, she worked many big names in fashion, including Donna Karan and Oscar del la Renta. The company still exists today. She has also written for major fashion magazines.
After a lifetime of dating well known black men, she met her life partner, former Olympian basketball player Gail Marquis, in 1999. After a twelve year long relationship, they were married in 2011. Since then she has become a vocal advocate for gay rights.
Now in her eighties, she still makes waves at fashion events. She offers her time and expertise as a mentor to young people entering the industry. As you can see in the snapshots above, she pays no attention to the more conservative fashion advice given to older women—cover up, avoid bold prints, don’t stand out too much in a crowd. After a long life in the fashion industry, she can make her own rules.
I’ve heard about her for decades, but never knew much about her, although I did once hear her speak about her company at FIT. Thanks for the post.