When you picture Hugh Hefner’s go-to gal, workaholic fashion designer Zelda Wynn Valdes might not be the first woman who comes to mind. But Hef did choose…
When you picture Hugh Hefner’s go-to gal, workaholic fashion designer Zelda Wynn Valdes might not be the first woman who comes to mind.
But Hef did choose Valdes, and for a very special honor: the job of creating the first, legendary Playboy Bunny costume.
Her bunny-eared one-piece made its official debut in February 1960.
“‘I just had a God-given talent for making people beautiful,’ ” Valdes told a New York Times reporter in 1994 .
Valdes, who passed away in 2001, was right: Women — and men, clearly — loved her for her showstopping designs.
In 1948, she became the first African-American woman to own a store on Broadway. Leading ladies of the ’40s and ’50s — Mae West among them — flocked uptown to “Chez Zelda” in Harlem to try on her bodacious sartorial confections.
She had a way of making stars shine brightly. And her boldface clientele, clad in those body-hugging designs, ultimately caught Hef’s attention.
Her hard work clearly paid off — and she was always working hard.
“People have been after me to write a book . .. When I retire, [I’ll] write a book!” she told the New York Times, laughing.
Her hustle never wavered, and the book never came.
