Pioneering black model Coco Mitchell still strutting stuff at 60-plus

New York: One of the first black models, Coco Mitchell, came back to the runway this month 10 months later and wanted to push the boundaries again in the sixties and support young producers.

As the fashion carnival swinged from London to Milan before heading to Paris, Mitchell achieved a new fashion show achievement last week in New York.

She told AFP "I want to push the envelope" a few days after the Janet Jackson dance moves during the star turn at the Deveaux New York Show on September 9.

Mitchell added to her house in Harlem: "I remember when I woke up. If you want to walk stupid things without looks or expressions, you can't do that.

Mitchell, who did not reveal his exact age, pleased the audience at a performance by Victor Barragan in Mexico and Christopher John Rogers in the United States during the New York Fashion Week ended September 11.

"Everything for me is grateful not because of my age. At that time I was grateful."

"And people have a sense, I feel that I'm not afraid of anything. I'm not afraid. The designer may not like it. Anyway, I'll take a chance," she said.

Mitchell, from the United States, made her first model 35 years ago. She marched for Dior, Saint Laurent, Armani or Versace and there's nothing to prove.

However, in the early 2000s, Mitchell quit the runway after being disillusioned.

In a long interview, she told AFP, "I don't want to do any more. I felt like a slave."

Discovered on the street by legendary model agency executive Eileen Ford, the 5-foot 10-inch model resumed some sort of catalog work that started her career.

She went to see models like Macy´s, Old Navy and Gap, but again felt the needs of the runway and this year decided to work with young designers.

Mitchell explained, “I really need help if you call me and tell us that we are doing this.”

& # 39; racial animal racism & # 39;

Her approach chimes with many modern producers who aim to break the traditional catwalk format by allowing the model to smile and interact with the spectators and photographers.

At the show, she touched the crowd by touching the blouse and inadvertently sweeping the air out and cheering the crowd.

Mitchell is not used to opening new horizons. She was the first African-American model in Sports Illustrated and the first runway model on all major African fashion shows.

She now interestingly observes the winds of diversity in the fashion world, especially in the United States, in the range of skin color, age, or the range of body shapes currently riding the runway.

Mitchell not only saw greater openness, but realized that it would also generate revenue among fashion executives.

She says, “Economically, many companies are spending a lot of money on browns, blacks, skin care, hair care, beauty products and clothing.

But Mitchell doesn't have any fantasies about some attitudes in American society.

"Racial discrimination is a strange animal and we live in the United States. I don't believe where it goes. It's part of people's DNA. It's just the way they think," she said.

Mitchell's improvisational return to the runway gave her so much joy and satisfaction that she's already coming back next year.

"I already started late from 23 to 24. I don't think about age because nobody knows it at all," she said.

"When I am 99 years old, I want my quality of life to be as it is now. I want to be able to walk in my mind. That is my goal."