FLAIR - 501c3, non-profit organization

05/06/2026

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03/27/2026

03/27/2026

It is with profound sadness that we share that one of our own, neighbor and friend, Judy Pace, made her peaceful transition in her sleep while visiting relatives in Marina Del Rey, CA, on March 11, 2026, at the age of 83. She was such a vibrant, high-spirited, elegant, and ageless beauty! A FLAIR Alum and 2017 Honoree, Judy Pace attended all of our FLAIR Events. It was a privilege to work closely with her at our initial 2013 FLAIR Reunion event and at our 2017 FLAIR Event, where she was honored as a recipient of our Legacy Award. She was so excited to reconnect with our alum organization and see fellow alums that she toured with - Virginia Tibbs, Claudette Marie Johnson Muhammad, and Teri Spring Walker, among others. She gave a wonderful interview discussing the legacy of the Ebony Fashion Fair in 2015; and followed up with a terrific down-to-earth interview with EFF/FLAIR Alum and 2017 Honoree Richard Roundtree, on the We Luvv Rare Grooves podcast.

Judy Lenteen Pace was born in Los Angeles, CA, on June 15, 1942. Her parents came west from Jackson, Mississippi - her father, Edward Pace, was an airplane mechanic, and her mother, Luretha "Kitty" (Griffin) Pace, was a dressmaker who built and ran Kitty’s Place (said to be the largest Black-owned ladies' apparel shop west of the Mississippi). Judy attended Marvin Avenue Elementary School, Louis Pasteur Junior High School, and graduated from Dorsey High School in 1960. Thereafter, she attended Los Angeles City College, where she majored in sociology. Her sister, Betty, trained her in the art of modeling. Judy grew up in a household where Black women made things, ran things, and dressed other Black people with intention, regardless of who they were or how they arrived. Judy was deeply committed to Black History and the education of youth. Her knowledge and holistic grasp of history was vast and solid.

She constantly shared history with me during our visits and trips together. She shared that early on, she was determined to be an Ebony Fashion Fair model. One such sharing was that she auditioned and was selected for the Ebony Fashion Fair in 1962-63, the 5th tour, "An Oriental Flair". One of the Ebony executives met her and decided that her small frame could not wear the couture clothing well enough, standing only 5'5 1/2" tall, and sent her back home to Los Angeles. Undeterred, she returned to Chicago again the following year. She passed the auditions again and actually toured with the Ebony Fashion Fair in 1963-64, the 6th tour, "Ebony Fashion Fair Americana" under Commentator Virginia Tibbs. At that time, she was the youngest model in the show's history. As the first model from the West Coast and a trailblazing dark-skinned model, she was highlighted as one of the prominent models in our tour history. She became the first print and television spokesperson for Fashion Fair Cosmetics. She was considered a key part of the "Black is Beautiful" movement through her work with EFF. Judy was featured in numerous Jet magazines, declaring EFF “a beauty revolution.”

The visibility from the EFF helped launch her successful acting career. She had no aspirations for film or television until director William Castle saw her images in Ebony magazine and cast her in "13 Frightened Girls" (1963), making her the first Black actress signed to a major motion picture studio contract. She shared that Johnson Publishing Company Founder, Mr. John H. Johnson, reached out to the studio to ensure that she received a fair contract for her services. She hadn’t been looking for Hollywood. Hollywood came looking for her. She realized that she was meant to be an actress, so she began taking acting classes and performing in L.A. theater. Her sister, singer Jean Pace Brown, was the wife of musician and activist Oscar Brown, Jr. Small parts on television and films started coming her way, leading to bigger and better roles, such as "Three in the Attic" (1968). She was the first Black woman to appear as a bachelorette on "The Dating Game". The first model in a continuing Pepsi campaign, she was a mainstay in Fashion Fair Cosmetics advertising. The NAACP awarded her its Image Award for "The Young Lawyers" in 1970. Nearly two decades before Diahann Carroll’s self-described “black b*tch” Dominique Devereaux arrived on "Dynasty", Judy Pace became the first Black villainess on American primetime as Vickie Fletcher on "Peyton Place" in 1968. “I had a ball playing the manipulative, cheating, backstabber who ruins the life of everyone who crosses her path,” she said. “Before then, no other actress of color had been given such a challenge. Playing complicated roles on network television as a Black woman in that era was not a performance. It was resistance." Every black female who watched Judy in "Young Lawyers" in 1970 fantasized about attending law school and becoming a lawyer. Unfortunately, the series was short-lived and replaced later by "The Paper Chase."

Judy won acclaim for her role as Iris Brown in the Ossie Davis-directed "Cotton Comes to Harlem" (1970). She gave us Linda Sayers, wife of Gale Sayers (Billy Dee Williams), in the acclaimed TV movie "Brian’s Song" - seen by an estimated 50 to 60 million viewers in a single 1971 broadcast, still one of the most-watched television films in American history. Her wide range of film credits, among others, included “The Fortune Cookie” (1966), "Batman" (1966), "The Flying Nun" (1967), “The Thomas Crown Affair” (1968), “Frogs” (1972), and “Cool Breeze” (1972). In 1973, she starred in 'The Slams", played Adelaide in a Las Vegas production of "Guys and Dolls", and played the character Mama June in the 2004 television film "Sucker Free City", directed by Spike Lee. She logged guest star roles on some of the most popular TV series of the 1960s and ’70s - “Bewitched”, “I Spy”, “I Dream of Jeannie”, “The Mod Squad”, “Sanford and Son”, “That’s My Mama”, “Good Times” and “What’s Happening”. Her final acting credit was for playing the character Delores in a four-episode arc on the television series "Beauty and the Baller" in 2017.

Judy Pace was married to "Ironside" actor Don Mitchell from 1972 to 1984, and they had two daughters - Attorney Shawn Pace Mitchell and actress Julia Pace Mitchell. She took time out for civic duties and to raise her daughters during the 1980s. She was married to baseball revolutionary and free agent pioneer Curt Flood from 1986 to 1997, until his death. She spent the years following Curt's death as the most committed keeper of his legacy, pushing for him to be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown (to date, it has not happened yet). She co-founded The Kwanza Foundation alongside her friend, actress Nichelle Nichols, supporting Black women in film and providing scholarships to minorities in the arts.

The history of Black models, Black film, and Black fashion has too many women like her - indispensable, under-documented, and only fully celebrated at the end. This is a naming of the doors she opened, and an insistence that the young woman who toured with the Ebony Fashion Fair, our FLAIR Alum, refused to be ignored, be understood for exactly what she was. "I hope there are ripples of change that I have caused by helping others,” she said.

Our FLAIR family sends love, comfort, prayers of peace and healing to her daughters, Attorney Shawn Pace Mitchell, actress Julia Pace Mitchell; her grandson, Stephen Lamar Hightower III; son-in-law, Otto Strong, extended family members, and close friends. A private funeral service, a burial, and a repast at Dulan's Restaurant on Crenshaw with family, thespians, and close friends was held on March 20. The family plans to hold a public service to celebrate Judy's contributions to the arts and creative community. Judy Pace is not a footnote - she is a foundation!

In lieu of flowers, the family of Judy Pace Flood asks that donations be made in her honor to the NAACP.

03/01/2026

Herman LaMonte McLemore, a founding member of The 5th Dimension, died last month on February 3, at his home in Las Vegas, surrounded by his wife of 30 years and family. At the age of 90, he died from natural causes following a stroke suffered several years ago.

Born September 17, 1935, in St. Louis, Missouri, LaMonte served in the United States Navy, where he trained and worked as an aerial photographer - an early chapter in what became a lifelong parallel career behind the lens as a longtime celebrity and sports photographer. He later pursued professional baseball in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ farm system, one of the first African Americans to participate, before settling in Southern California and turning his attention to music and photography full-time.

LaMonte was a freelance photographer for various publications, including Ebony, photographed models for the Ebony Fashion Fair, and was the premier freelance photographer for JET magazine’s “Beauty of the Week” for 5 decades. He was the first African American photographer hired by Harper’s Bazaar magazine. His photography had a profound impact on Black culture and provided a much-needed space for Black women to see ourselves represented as desirable. His images served as a challenge to the limiting and stereotypical beauty standards of his time, and celebrated the natural beauty and strength of Black women. Black Is Beautiful: JET Beauties of the Week compiled, for the first time, numerous photographs from LaMonte’s shoots, including never-before-seen outtakes from those sessions. The dynamic coffee table book is a tribute to his talent and cultural impact, and is a celebration of Black women, Black beauty, and Black culture.

We send condolences to his wife, Mieko, daughter Ciara, son Darin, sister Joan, grandchildren, and to all who knew and loved him.

https://powerhousebooks.com/books/black-is-beautiful/

01/20/2026

Valentino Garavani, the renowned Italian fashion designer, and fashion's 'Last Emperor', has passed away at the age of 93. Valentino, whose elegant evening gowns were favored for decades by some of the world's most glamorous women, peacefully passed away today at his residence in Rome, surrounded by the love of his family. Eunice Johnson convinced Valentino to use black models in his shows back in the '60s. Legendary EFF/FLAIR Alums Pat Cleveland, Von Gretchen Shepard, and Sonia Cole Berr had long histories with Valentino. Sonia was a part of the Valentino Elite and was a fixture on the Valentino runway.

Valentino Clemente Ludovico Garavani was born on May 11, 1932, in Voghera, a small town south of Milan, to Teresa and Mauro Garavani. He decided on design as his métier early on and enrolled at the Accademia dell’Arte in Milan where he studied fashion and French. Pursuing his ambition, at 17, he moved to Paris to attend the École des Beaux Arts and the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne. Popularly known by his first name, he learned his trade in the haute couture ateliers in Paris before founding his own line in Rome in 1959. After graduating, he spent five years working for Jean Dessès, a Greek designer known for his pleated evening dresses. Valentino said he was fired in 1957 for lingering too long at the beach in St.-Tropez, but he quickly moved on to work with Guy Laroche. Popularly known by his first name, he learned his trade in the haute couture ateliers in Paris before returning to Rome two years later and founding his own line in Rome in 1959 (financed by his father and some of his father’s friends) on the fashionable Via dei Condotti.

Early on, he became known for his red dresses, which became his trademark beginning in 1959, in a rich scarlet shade that became his signature color to the extent that it was known within the industry as “Valentino red.” On July 30, 1960, in Via Veneto, the epicenter of Rome's Dolce Via, he met his long-time business partner (and, for 12 years, romantic partner) Giancarlo Giammetti, then a young architecture student. Together, the pair turned Valentino SpA into an internationally recognized brand. The designer’s All White couture collection of 1968 is the one that set him solidly in the firmature of Italian design. They earned Italian fashion a seat in the inner circle of Parisian couture ateliers, paving the way for Italian brands Armani and Versace, which came thereafter; built a fortune in licenses; and became the first designer name brand quoted on the Milan stock exchange. With his exacting pattern-making, signature hue of poppy red, and eye for feminine details like bows, ruffles, lace, and embroideries, he was one of the key architects of late 20th-century glamour. Valentino created and sold an image of high glamour that helped define Italian style for generations.

His popularity would continue as the decades progressed. Valentino spent much of the 1970s in New York, surrounded by a wide circle of friends that included the artist Andy Warhol and Vogue editor Diana Vreeland. With his precision-tailored suits, suntan, and perfectly coiffed hair, Valentino was every bit the quintessential Italian gentleman. He was an avid collector of Chinese antiques and indulged his love of flowers and topiary in the landscaped grounds of his 17th century Chateau Wideville, outside of Paris, which he bought in 1995.

In 1998, Valentino sold his company to the Italian conglomerate HdP for some $300 million, although he continued to work for the company. He retired from the industry in 2008, after more than 45 years, marking the end of one of the longest careers in fashion. The occasion was marked with a star-studded fashion show at the Musée Rodin in Paris. For the finale, models donned identical “Valentino red” gowns. Even after stepping down from his label, he continued to make one-off wedding gowns; dabbled in opera with the costumes for a 2016 production of “La Traviata” in Rome; and cast himself as an entertaining guru, publishing a cookbook/coffee table tome that featured menus and table settings customized for his five homes in London, Paris, New York, Spain, and Gstaad, Switzerland; as well as for his 152-foot yacht, the T.M. Blue One.

Valentino was not only an undisputed protagonist of fashion but also a central figure in Italian cultural history. A man who pushed the boundaries of possibility, traversing the world with rare delicacy, silent rigor, and a boundless love of beauty. In 2009, the designer was the subject of the Matt Tyrnauer-directed documentary, Valentino: The Last Emperor, which followed the designer, his career-long business partner Giancarlo Giammetti, and his entourage in the two years leading up to his retirement. In the film, Valentino tells a reporter: “I know what women want, they want to be beautiful.”

We send our condolences to all who knew and loved him.
Our hearts go out to his family, friends, and the global Valentino community, who carry forward his enduring vision of beauty and grace. Valentino is survived by his tribe - Giancarlo Giammetti, Bruce Hoeksema, Carlos Souza and Countess Charlene Shorto (Souza) de Ganay; and his godsons Sean and Anthony Souza. He was passionate about his pug dogs and at one time owned six of them - Milton, Monty, Maude, Margot, Maggie, and Molly. The legendary couturier Valentino Garavani will lie in state in Rome at PM23 in Piazza Mignanelli 23 on Wednesday, January 21st, and Thursday, January 22nd, from 11:00 am - 6:00 pm. His funeral will be held on Friday, January 23rd at 11 am.

“I hope I will be remembered as a man who pursued beauty wherever I could."

"A woman dressed in red never makes a mistake. It's a giving color, it looks good on everyone, it gives a lot of energy, a lot of polish. Red is life, passion, love; it is the remedy against sadness. I think a woman dressed in red, especially in the evening, is wonderful. She is, among the crowd, the perfect image of the heroine."

For him, beauty was a tool of power, and he wore it with the gilded glory of a crown.

09/04/2025

Giorgio Armani, famed Italian fashion designer, 'Emperor of Elegance' and 'Master of Minimalism', known best for his eponymous company Armani has died at the age of 91. Armani combined the FLAIR of the designer with the acumen of a businessman, running a company that turned over some $2.7 billion a year. Our legendary EFF/FLAIR models Pat Cleveland, Celeste Johnson, and Sonia Cole, among others, became fixtures on the runway of Giorgani Amani.

Armani died at home, “peacefully, surrounded by his loved ones,” the fashion house said. “Indefatigable to the end, he worked until his final days, dedicating himself to the company, the collections and the many ongoing and future projects.” He had been unwell for some time, and was forced to drop out of his group's shows at Milan's Men's Fashion Week in June, the first time in his career that he had missed one of his catwalk events.

Born July 11, 1934, in Piacenza, a small town south of Milan, Armani dreamed of becoming a doctor before a part-time job as a window decorator in a Milan department store opened his eyes to the world of fashion. At the time of his death, Armani had put together an empire worth over $10 billion, which along with clothing included accessories, home furnishings, perfumes, cosmetics, books, flowers and even chocolates, ranking him in the world’s top 200 billionaires, according to Forbes. The designer also owned several bars, clubs, restaurants and his own basketball team, Olympia Milano. Armani opened more than 20 restaurants from Milan to Tokyo since 1998, and two hotels, one in Dubai in 2009 and another in Milan, in 2010. He was planning a major event to celebrate 50 years of his signature Giorgio Armani fashion house during Milan Fashion Week this month.

We send our condolences to all who knew and loved him. Armani is survived by his sister Rosanna, a former fashion model, and her son Andrea Camerana; and nieces Silvana and Roberta, the daughters of his late brother Sergio. A public viewing will be held in the Armani Theater at Via Bergognone 59 in Milan where he unveiled his ready-to-wear collections on Saturday and Sunday. In accordance with Armani’s explicit wishes, the funeral will be held privately and no details were released.