NEW YORK FASHION WEEK THE EVOLVING STANDARD OF BEAUTY
Who can better broach the subject of `The Evolving Standard of Beauty’ than the iconic Black Beauty Queens who are making history as the women who reign supreme, celebrating this crowning achievement for beauty and culture? Never before have all the major Beauty titles are held by Black women. So the Queens gathered for a chat at the start of New York Fashion Week – ZOZIBINI TUNZI “Miss Universe” CHELSIE KRYST “Miss USA” KALIEGH GARRIS “Miss Teen USA” and the outgoing NIA FRANKLIN “Miss America” (Miss World, the newly crowned TONI ANN SINGH of Jamaica was not present).
BOZOMA ST JOHN
The Queens got real during “The Talks” part of a conversation series in the cozy Sunken Living Room, tucked away on the sixth floor of Spring Studios in Tribeca, New York. This specific `Conversation’ was presented by The Miss Universe Organization and moderated by BOZOMA ST JOHN, Chief Marketing Officer of Endeavor, the umbrella company that owns IMG (among others) who runs New York Fashion Week. PAULA SHUGART, President of the Miss Universe Organization, in welcoming attendees said it was a very special moment for the organization in terms of inclusivity and diversity in selecting the best contestant to wear the crown. She introduced moderator Bozoma St John, emphasizing that the Miss Universe Organization had been trying to get Bozoma to be a judge at Miss Universe for years, “We were so happy to finally get her as a judge at the recent pageant.” Bozoma, before beginning the conversation remarked; “I am extremely happy about this moment in history.”
“MISS AMERICA” – NIA FRANKLIN
Here are some of the highlights of the conversation. Nia Franklin started off by saying that she just passed her “Miss America” crown to her successor. A holder of two Music degrees – one in music composition, Nia has written over 100 songs, wrote her first song when she was 5 years old. “I never thought I could be “Miss America” I never dreamt of that, now little boys and girls can be inspired.” She revealed that her first single will be released next month “It’s titled `Earth Sun.’ I am super passionate about singing, music education. and women in music. I am a trained opera singer, but I also sing R&B. I will be working with more women behind the scenes in music, as composers.” Nia also revealed that she knew Cheslie Kryst way before Cheslie started competing in pageants. “As a matter of fact, the first pageant I entered, I was wearing one of Cheslie’s gowns I’d burrowed.” Another fact revealed was that after Nia won the “Miss America” title, she reached out to Chelsie, an attorney, to go over the contract she had with the “Miss America Organization”.
“MISS USA” CHELSIE KRYST
Chelsie did negotiate her friend’s Nia contract, and according to Moderator Bozoma St John “She’s a tough negotiator, Nia had a fabulous contract because of Cheslie.” Bozoma asked the panel what inspired all of them to go into pageantry. Chelsie said she remembers as a kid, that her Mother was crowned “Mrs. North Carolina USA” in her home state. “I remember seeing my Mom coming down the street leading a parade in a white horse-drawn carriage – no joke, and she was waving in all this grandeur. I wanted to be that. She embodied it for me. The idea of wanting to be my Mom did it for me….people listened when she opened her mouth, and I wanted that.” For the future, Chelsie, who is the newest correspondent on Extra TV, said she’ll continue doing that. “I’ll expand on that and maybe I’ll be the next Oprah, and that would be very dope.” On Bozoma’s question: `When was the first moment you realized that you were beautiful?’ Chelsie answered: “It started with my father, he always told me I was. Also in class when I was in Law school, the Professor stopped the class and said I looked like Chaka Khan…or Dianna Ross, I don’t remember which one, but it was said as a compliment.” Chelsie also revealed that her career as an attorney brought several challenges that she had to overcome at an early stage, which gave her a certain amount of confidence that she carries to this day. “Being in court, I was usually the only woman, the only Black person and the youngest one in the room, they never recognized me as the attorney.”
ZOZOBINI TUNZI “MISS UNIVERSE”
Zozibini Tunzi, just less than two months after her crowning in Atlanta, Georgia, seemed to be still glowing in her victory. She spoke on her journey that began in 2017 when she entered the “Miss South Africa” pageant and did not even make the semi-finals. She came back in 2019 stronger than ever and not only made the finals but won the crown and title. That gave her the right to represent her home nation at the “Miss Universe” pageant which she won. She became the first Black South African to win “Miss Universe” and the first Black woman with a short, natural Afro hairstyle to win “Miss Universe.” That brought up the controversial subject of Black women’s hair. Just looking at all of the Queens, yes, obviously all Black – all-natural hair is various styles – but all so beautifully different. “My journey started with the “Miss South Africa” pageant and when I told people I was entering, the first thing they asked was about my hair. It became such a continuous conversation…I made a conscious decision to go with my natural hair. I felt it was important to say it. It’s the beauty of being a woman. We’re all brilliant, we can do our hair in different ways, our beauty goes way beyond that (hair).”
BEAUTY
On the question of first realizing her beauty, Zozi (as she is familiarly called) said: “I saw myself through my Mom, my sisters, and Grandma. When I grew up, my system had been the women in my family. I saw and read about some extraordinarily powerful women who fought for our freedom – I see the beauty in them. Beauty is an aura, it’s what you present to the world. I see myself in them because I came from them.” She talked about being born in an apartheid South Africa and the social programming that came with it. “We become so scared of our power. When you walk in a room, you should not be scared of your power, claim it, use your voice – Be heard! Be seen and NOT heard is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. I believe in Diversity in action, not just in looks.” Asked about what’s in the future for Miss Universe? Zozi beamed; “Whatever my future is, it will be bright. I truly believe whatever I touch it will be great. I’m waiting to see what will happen.” How is Zozi handling everything that has been bestowed upon her as the Queen of the Universe? “I looked at it as a Leadership position, not just a Beauty pageant winner, because I had a lot to say, and a lot of people were listening and following.”
KALIEGH GARRIS “MISS TEEN U.S.A.”
The youngest of the group, Kaleigh Garris said she’s still figuring out what her future will be. “I am in college. I’m studying communications, want to get into media with a concentration on film, television and media production. I also want to grow my Social Movement into a 501 K Foundation. Kaleigh talked about having a sister with special needs and started a Social Movement inspired by her titled `We are People First.’ “I want to highlight and showcase who they are, and not what they look like or the fact that they are disabled. My sister is one of the funniest persons you’d ever met. She’s the most loving and caring person I know.” Kaleigh said she still looks in the mirror and says “Wow!” realizing that she’s “Miss Teen USA” and uses positive affirmations on herself as a form of staying grounded – “…Even now, sitting here with my pageant sisters is a Wow moment. I am still thrilled at the whole thing, like, this is real, I saw this on TV. I’m thrilled, happy and proud to be a part of history.”
At the end of the conversation, designer Kaleila Wright presented all of the Queens, including Bozama and Paula Shugart with specially designed jackets, featuring the slogan “Queen – Don’t be afraid to Rule as a King.”
