CHICAGO (August 13, 2013) —Fashion Fair, a division of Johnson Publishing Company, has teamed with Sundance award-winning filmmaker, Ava DuVernay, to launch the short film, “Say Yes.” This film focuses on Black women, embracing individual beauty and celebrates what it means to “say yes” to life’s possibilities.Inspired by Fashion Fair, the film highlights beautiful Black women of all hues and ages who explore the power of the affirmative. The actresses in the film are wearing a range of Fashion Fair products. The lead, Kali Hawk, is wearing shades of pink from the Fashion Fair Capsule Collection.“Fashion Fair has celebrated the beauty of women of color for over 40 years,” said Desiree Rogers, the Chief Executive Officer of Johnson Publishing Company. “We believe that Fashion Fair is an iconic beauty brand that empowers women to create their own beauty look and style. Fashion Fair encourages women to embrace their individual beauty, as reflected in the “Say Yes” film. We seek to inspire women of color everywhere to be motivated by the film. It is a new and refreshing view, exactly what women will find when they visit the renewed and refreshed Fashion Fair Cosmetics counters.”Fashion Fair co- founder, Eunice W. Johnson, introduced the cosmetics line when she noticed models of the Ebony Fashion Fair Show mixing their own foundations. The line is now composed of skincare, foundation lines in colors that range from Fawn to Ebony, as well as color offerings to accentuate the beauty of women on all skin tones."I was thrilled to be asked to create a film for Fashion Fair, a brand that has always embraced women of color, and that women of color have so often embraced," explains DuVernay. "The film is a meditation on the power of 'yes,' illustrating what can happen when we affirm our family, our friends, ourselves. I also thought about the many ways that Fashion Fair says 'yes' to us. Yes to our variance of skin tone, yes to our different ages, yes to our body sizes, yes to the myriad of elements that we are. That's something worth celebrating."The film features actors Lance Gross and Kali Hawk in leading roles, with cameo appearances from “Awkward Black Girl” star and creator, Issa Rae, musical recording artist, Ndambi, actress Lorraine Touissant, and filmmaker and author Julie Dash. This film is available for public viewing at FashionFair.com.About Fashion Fair:Fashion Fair is the largest Black-owned cosmetics company in the world. The company began in 1973 to address the lack of cosmetic products on the market for women of color. Fashion Fair Cosmetics remains deeply rooted in the African-American experience. The brand's focus remains dedicated to offering products, services and education that address the unique complexion needs for women with deeper skin tones. The line can be found in department stores across the United States as well as in Canada, the United Kingdom, Africa, the Caribbean, France and other countries around the world. For more information, visit FashionFair.com. I really enjoyed this short film by Ms. DuVernay! As I was watching, two things came to my mind repeatedly..."Black is Beautiful" & "Love is Beautiful". I loved the diversity in the ages shown, fashion and even the hair styles! Everything brought a smile to my face, including the laid-back but funky background tracks.
Have you seen the short film yet? What did you think and what does "Say Yes" mean to you?
