From the runway to beauty entrepreneurship, Iman transformed the meaning of the supermodel—and made her own rules along the way.
Iman
The original supermodel whose beauty, intelligence, and vision changed fashion forever.
From the pages of Vogue to Mugler runways and the creation of Iman Cosmetics, Iman transformed beauty into a language of her own.
F rom her first fashion shoot with Vogue in 1976 to Mugler runways and the founding of Iman Cosmetics, Iman became the original supermodel whose influence extended far beyond the runway.
Born in Somalia as Zara Mohamed Abdulmajid, she began her career in New York and quickly challenged the fashion industry’s treatment of Black models. She became known not only for her extraordinary beauty, but also for demanding that Black models receive equal respect and compensation.
Since then, she has remained nothing short of iconic.
“They said I was exotic… A parrot is exotic, I’m a person.”
The statement captures something essential about Iman: she has never allowed the fashion industry to define her entirely on its own terms.
A Face
That Changed Fashion
The 1970s
The day Iman arrived in New York in 1975, she made an unforgettable entrance at a press party welcoming her to the city.
She wore a scarf-covered bouffant hairstyle, dramatic dark eyeshadow, and short micro-brows—a beauty look that was strikingly different from the understated approach she had known before entering the fashion world.
Iman has recalled that she had never worn makeup before that moment. As her relationship with beauty evolved, however, she began experimenting with increasingly expressive looks.
The 1980s
By the 1980s, Iman’s beauty language had become much more adventurous.
Glossed reds, rich browns, and vivid oranges appeared across her lips, while her hairstyles moved between sophisticated glamour and unapologetic rock-and-roll attitude.
At Tara Tyson’s baby shower in 1986, she appeared in a spiked, rockstar-inspired wig paired with a dramatic dark lip—another reminder that Iman never treated beauty as something static.
The 1990s
In the 1990s, Iman’s beauty evolution became even more experimental.
She moved effortlessly from dramatic lioness hairstyles to sculptural wigs and unexpected silhouettes, proving that her beauty was never dependent on a single signature look.
Among the era’s memorable transformations were a sleek gray pixie cut at Herb Ritts’ birthday party, a braided beehive at the 1996 Costume Institute Gala, and a bold red afro for Interview magazine’s 30th anniversary celebration.
The 2000s
By the new millennium, Iman had evolved from supermodel into something even more influential: a beauty entrepreneur and cultural authority.
Her work through Iman Cosmetics helped address a longstanding problem in the beauty industry—the lack of sophisticated foundation and complexion products created specifically for women with deeper skin tones.
Her impact was no longer limited to the runway. She was helping redefine who the beauty industry considered when it imagined its customer.
More Than
Beauty
Iman’s career cannot be reduced to photographs, runway appearances, or a list of beauty looks. Her legacy is rooted in transformation—changing how Black women were seen, represented, photographed, and ultimately served by the beauty industry.
Iman Through the Years
A visual journey through the beauty evolution of one of fashion’s most enduring icons.
