model
Personal Information
Born Tyson Beckford, December 19, 1970, in New York City, NY; son of Lloyd Beckford and Hillary Dixon Hall.
Career
Fashion model. Posed for the Source magazine, 1993; has appearing in various publications, including Arena, British GQ, Details, EM, Essence, GQ, Mondo Uomo, New York Times--fashion section, Paper, Vibe, and Vogue Hommes; signed with Bethann Management Company, 1993; first black to sign exclusive contract with Ralph Lauren, 1995. Fashion shows include Tommy Hilfiger; Nautica; Hugo Boss, Calvin Klein, and Donna Karan.
Life's Work
In a world of fashion that has been dominated by women--from the British Twiggy of the 1960s to the multi-ethnic Naomi Campbell of today--Tyson Beckford was not only the first black male "supermodel," he was the first male supermodel. As Scott Poulson-Bryant wrote in Vibe, "Fabulous females like Christy [Turlington], Linda [Evangelista] and Naomi [Campbell] used to epitomize the world of high fashion. That was until a brother bum-rushed the menswear show." In fact Beckford has become big enough that he is now primarily known as Tyson. Ralph Lauren, one of the biggest fashion designers and clothing manufacturers of the 1980s and 1990s, attributes Tyson's success to his "all-American look with a dramatic edge. He conveys power, style and intelligence in a very exciting way."
Tyson's current wealth and high visibility are not the result of a privileged background. He was born in the Bronx to parents of Jamaican descent. He points out that the exotic cast to his features comes from a Chinese grandparent. Soon after he was born, his mother took the family back to Jamaica where they stayed until he was seven. Coming back to New York City, they first lived upstate before returning to Harlem, where Tyson still maintains a residence.
Bethann Hardison, Tyson's agent, credits his mother with a large part of Tyson's success, saying that she raised him to be unusually sensitive. His mother worked for a time as a fashion model. Realizing her son's extraordinary charisma from a young age, she dragged him with her from one runway show to another. Despite his mother's influence, he was not immune to the usual tensions of growing up poor in the ghetto. Never disowning his past, he admits that he lived a wild life, sometimes running with a dangerous crowd and often courting trouble. He even spent a night in jail for stealing a car, though the charges were reduced.
Rather than hanging out all the time with the chic crowd of the international fashion world, Tyson still spends most of his increasingly rare free time with the same friends he had in the summer of 1993. It was at this time that a reporter for an influential New York City journal, The Source, asked Tyson if he would be willing to pose. Tyson was at first reluctant, not sure of what was being offered. When he was satisfied that the offer was legitimate, he made what proved to be an excellent career decision by accepting the opportunity.
Beckford's next big break was coming to the attention of Bethann Hardison, an important agent in the world of fashion. Not only does she handle talented models through her own successful agency, but she also has taken the lead in demanding the use of a more fair proportion of African Americans among models. Although in the 1990s, it is not uncommon to see black faces in catalogs and in commercials, they are still extremely under-represented when compared to the number of black readers and buyers. To help fight this, Hardison formed the Black Girls' Coalition, an organization of successful models who use their clout to demand that all black models receive a fair shake.
Hardison admits that she did not see right away what made Tyson a supermodel. She realized quickly, though, that he was a unique combination of strength, intelligence, power, and sensitivity. The best fashion photographers loved to photograph Tyson and felt his shots were great from the start. With Hardison and her agency behind him, his rise was dramatic. He appeared in the fashion section of the New York Times, in Gentleman's Quarterly--both the American and English versions--and in the Mark & Spencer Catalog, perhaps the most prestigious catalog for a male fashion model in the world.
In 1994, People named him one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world. Popular magazines do not dominate the fashion world, however; the designers do. Thus, Tyson's most prestigious accomplishment was modeling for Ralph Lauren. He was the first black man to wear Ralph Lauren clothing in the company's advertising. Beyond that, Ralph Lauren signed him to an exclusive contract worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, an unprecedented sum for a male model. The rising model had become a supermodel. He told the Source, "I haven't let anything go to my head. New York [City] keeps you grounded. If you're acting funny in the city, someone will let you know in a minute."
Even with his phenomenal success, Tyson has not forgotten his roots or the other black models still fighting for some success; any job he does not get he wants to go to another black model. He turned down a chance to work the annual Milan fashion shows one year, because he was the only black man invited from the United States. As he told Vibe, "There are so many African-American and African men who are trying to get jobs, and they weren't giving the jobs to them.... I'm not the only brother out here trying to make it. So I didn't go." This stance put him in some conflict with Hardison who felt his appearance in Milan would open doors of opportunity for himself and others. Both can see that Tyson's success will be important to aspiring black models of the future.
Tyson's discomfort with affluence and celebrity implies that he is ready for the challenges of sudden wealth and fame, even at his young age. He knows that some will be looking at him and to him as a role model. He is wise enough, though, to know that this is an unfair burden, but one he should not shoulder aside. As he told the Weekly Journal, "I just want to be looked at as a brother who's doing something positive."
Awards
Named one of People's "50 Most Beautiful People," 1995; Male Model of the Year, VH1 Fashion and Video Awards, 1995.
Further Reading
Sources
- Ebony, September 1995, p. 48.
- People, May 8, 1995.
- Source, January 1995; June 1995, p. 24.
- Vibe, September 1995, pp. 100-02.
- Weekly Journal, April 13, 1995, p. 4ff.
— Jim McDermott
