#mounia

Mounia wearing the coeur fetiche, and a perfect example of how simple can be striking and absolutely stunning

Mounia, the first Black Haute Couture model and Yves Saint Laurent's muse ✨

Mounia was born in Martinique, a Caribbean island that's part of the Lesser Antilles. She worked at the island's local airport as an announcer and was then transferred to Paris' Orly airport, finding herself in the epicenter of fashion.

When she started her career in fashion, other models like Iman, Beverly Johnson and Pat Cleveland were breaking the barriers of this white dominated industry. Mounia herself became the first-ever Black model to walk a Chanel runway.

She was then noticed by Yves Saint Laurent, the French fashion designer who heavily disagreed with the fashion industry's white-only traditions. He was taken by her beauty and grace, situating her as the pinnacle of his work. She was able to inspire him both through her beauty and through her friendship.

Through his very diverse fashion shows which had her as the star, the fashion world came to celebrate Mounia's excellence. In 1978, she walked the Yves Saint Laurent Haute Couture show, becoming the first Black model to appear on the couture runways.

Yves Saint Laurent with muse Mounia on the runway in the 1980s.

When Yves Saint Laurent was searching for his next muse, he was drawn to Mounia an exotic and flawless Martinique-born beauty who worked at the island's local airport as an announcer. After being transferred to Paris' Orly airport, and in the epicenter of fashion she became a model. Mounia’s rich complexion and unparalleled grace drew Saint Laurent to her. He situated her as the pinnacle of his work, finding inspiration in her beauty but also friendship,  and was widely considered the French couturier’s favorite model. Saint Laurent was one of the first major designers to open doors for Black models, paving the way for the likes of Naomi Campbell, Tyra Banks, Iman and other models of colour who took the fashion world by storm. He challenged conventional standards of beauty, setting the stage for other black models to shine. His commitment to diversity shined through in all of his collections. In 1978, she walked the Yves Saint Laurent Haute Couture show, becoming the first Black model to appear on the esteemed couture runways. 

“I was [Saint Laurent's] first Black muse...He helped open the door for Black models. Sometimes I was his confidante, and I would sometimes inspire his creativity. He called me Moumounn. The collection that made me a celebrity was the one inspired by Porgy and Bess. I wore a pink pantsuit and a boater hat. I walked to ‘Summertime’ and really took on the character of Bess. Catherine Deneuve stood up and started clapping. Then everyone stood up and called out ‘Bravo!’ Yves Saint Laurent peered around the curtain—a thing that he had never done before—to see what all of the commotion was about. The people were shouting ‘Bravo, Yves Saint Laurent!’ and ‘Brava, Mounia!’ He took me in his arms, and we kissed. This for me was history."