Tyra Banks on the Cover of Ebony Magazine

August 14th, 2007

America’s Next Top Model’s Tyra Banks, along with other black beauties grace the cover of Ebony magazine’s September issue, which is out in the market today. Celebrating the influence of Blacks in the fashion world, the monthly magazine for the African American market features a 50-page spread that will pay homage to various fashion designers, stylists, models and fashion icons.

Banks, 33, has made a name for herself in the fashion industry with her extensive print and runway work for advertising giants such as Cover Girl, Victoria’s Secret, and Tommy Hilfiger just to name a few. Marked as the first African American woman on the covers of GQ and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, she has taken her modeling expertise onto the television circuit, with her highly rated competitive reality series America’s Next Top Model. She is also currently hosting her own daytime Emmy Award-nominated talk show, The Tyra Banks Show.

“A lot of the times the fashion world doesn’t give a lot of attention to American Black girls from urban areas,” Banks said. “I don’t mean to pat my own back, but America’s Next Top Model pulled down the curtain to this world that people thought they couldn’t be a part of. Now every girl is like, ‘I want to be a model.’ I feel like the world is more accessible, but by no means is it less prestigious.”

Apart from the host of America’s Next Top Model, Somali-American model Iman, 52, is also featured on the cover. Known for representing Yves St. Laurent, she is currently CEO of Iman Cosmetics, Skincare and Fragrances, a line she established to market a selection of products for women of color.

Kimora Lee Simmons, 32, and Alek Wek, 30, round up the September cover girls. Simmons is known as a retired model and the head of design for urban fashion line Baby Phat, while Wek is noted for representing high-profile designers on the runway, including Donna Karan, Calvin Klein, and John Galliano.

-Kris De Leon, BuddyTV Staff Columnist