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The downtime facilitated by the COVID-19 pandemic has caused many of us to reflect on and be nostalgic for times that were less challenging and uncertain. With global fashion industry in a state of unparalleled disruption and turmoil, it is difficult to imagine what the outcome of this shakeup will produce.
That said; one thing is certain. The fashion industry will never be the same. And this unexpected evolution causes one to look back at an era in the fashion industry where photographers like Helmut Newton, Richard Avedon, Irving Penn where changing the way fashion was marketed to a post-WWII consumer.
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The moldable piece of clay that wholeheartedly expressed this post-WWII global fashion was Suzy Parker. As the American consumer emerged out of a wartime economy, female consumers were looking for an image that expressed their desire for glamour, luxury,and style. Susie Parker was that image.
Parker became Richard Avedon’s first muse and in the 1950s became the face of Chanel, counting the legendary Coco Chanel as a close friend.
Parker’s older sister, Dorian Leigh, also an iconic fashion model, realized her sister model potential—at the tender age of 15—and sent her sister to Eileen Ford at the Ford Modeling Agency. Unlike her sister Dorian, Suzy Parker was 5`10 inches tall and big boned—Dorian was 5`5 and delicate looking. Suzy, over time, became more famous than her sister Dorian.
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Suzy Parker was first photographed for Life magazine. And later that year she became the face of Delarosa Jewelry. Soon after, Suzy was introduced to esteemed fashion photographers John Rawlings, Horst P. Horst, Irving Penn, and a young Richard Avedon by her sister Dorian. Later, Suzy became one of Avedon’s favorite models and a great inspiration for him. “The only joy I ever got out of modeling was working with Dick Avedon,” detailed Suzy Parker.
Declared the face of post-WWII confident American woman by Vogue magazine, Parker was the first model to earn $200 an hour and $100,000 a year. Suzy Parker graced the cover of over 70 magazine including Vogue, Elle, Life, Look, McCall’s, Redbook, and Paris Match.
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In the late 1950s, Parker sequed into acting, appearing in several Hollywood films—“Funny Face,” “Ten North Frederick,”, “The Best of Everything,” “A Circle of Deception,” and “Chamber of Horrors.” The Beatles even penned a song “Suzy Parker” after her.
Parker married three times, first as a teenager to Ronald Stanton. Here second husband was French fashion photographer Pierre de la Salle. In 1963, Suzy Parker married her third and last husband, actor Bradford Dillman. She had three children with Dillman.
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In 2003 Suzy Parker died from complications due to diabetes. She was survived by her husband Bradford Dillman and her children.
—William S. Gooch
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