Where It All Begins

Americans’ greatest contribution to fashion is the confidence and ease of our style. Fifty years ago a group of designers, and this model, showed the French how it’s done, and changed how we dress forever

- BRIDGET FOLEY

The Battle of Versailles—a fashion show for the ages. Fifty years ago this November, five masters of elegant French haute couture and five purveyors of easy American ready-to-wear staged an event in one of the world’s most extraordinary locations. Ostensibly, the soiree was meant to benefit the palace’s restoration. But the Grand Divertissement à Versailles (its official name) is remembered not for its philanthropic premise but as a watershed moment when American gusto trumped French grandeur. It continues to fascinate, inspiring two documentaries, a pivotal episode of Netflix’s Halston, and Tom Ford’s installation at the Metropolitan Museum’s “In America: An Anthology of Fashion.” In addition, HBO optioned critic Robin Givhan’s seminal book on the event.

Anniversaries cause us to look back and reassess, and 50 is a big one. Also, recent collections have emphasized clothes rooted in the core traditions of American chic—practical, relaxed, polished without stuffiness—clothes such as the ones on these pages, worn by the glorious Alva Chinn.

She was one of 10 Black models on the American roster of more than 30 who commanded the stage brilliantly, moving with a joie de vivre that captivated the audience. Like Chinn, Bethann Hardison, Pat Cleveland, Norma Jean Darden, and Billie Blair were among those who went on to major careers. “Versailles was the beginning of American fashion being recognized as fashion,” Chinn says. “The energy we brought was new, fun, and exciting.”