TBPN guest recounts Richard Avedon’s influence and his stand for model China Machado

A TBPN guest described the postwar years—and especially the 1960s “youthquake” culture—as a golden age of fashion photography. He said Harper’s Bazaar’s publisher asked photographer Richard Avedon to reshoot images of Asian model China Machado with a white model. Avedon, whose contract was nearing renewal, threatened not to renew it unless the photographs ran. According to the guest, Machado became the first non-white model in a nationally syndicated fashion magazine not because the publication had suddenly turned progressive, but because Avedon was prepared to leave. The guest also noted Avedon’s influence on Calvin Klein’s advertising style, including early CK One ads.