Grace, Grace Jones, Grace Jones,”— Beyoncé. Grace Jones, the iconic model, fashion muse, singer, and actress, has lived the most colorful and full life. From defining Studio 54 and walking for Patrick Kelly to collaborating with Keith Haring and her infamous Philip Treacy headpieces, throughout the course of her decades-long career, Jones has influenced the worlds of art, music, fashion, and pop culture at large in any and every way possible. With her striking androgynous aesthetic, fearless fashion choices, and boundary-pushing music, she challenged conventional norms and redefined the notion of beauty and sexuality. She was truly the first of her kind and continues to serve as the blueprint. Born in Jamaica, she eventually started to model in New York and then to Paris, walking for the likes of Yves Saint Laurent and sitting for the world’s premier photographers. The rest is fashion history.
Soon her career expanded into acting and singing, from cameos and music videos to being in her own music videos that caused widespread controversy and admiration — Jones created a chasm in Hollywood, and it was and still fortifying. Jones broke barriers, she wasn’t just one Black model out of 30 on a runway, and she was not one that could be boxed into being a token. And as far as her style, it gets no more iconic. She was the muse to many of the industry’s most respected designers, from Jean Paul Gaultier to Azzedine Alaïa and continues to inspire. Grace Jones was and still is a trailblazer.
