"Back in the '90s, the lean, melanated baldie from the Bronx gave fashion houses access to minority cultures around the globe, often the only Black model in casting rooms full of blond, blue-eyed boys. "They would look at me like I was crazy," remembers Beckford of his fair-skinned peers. "Like, 'Didn't you get the memo? Did your agent mess up and send you to the wrong casting?'""
"After a year of awkward auditions for lily-white lines like Abercrombie & Fitch, Beckford linked with another icon, Ralph Lauren, in 1993, becoming the Polo poster child during his Jordan year. ("It was like signing an NBA contract right out of school," says Beckford.) To this day, no Black male model has grossed more coin than the billboard god of the '90s."
Tyson Beckford rose from the Bronx to become the defining Black male model of the 1990s, often the sole Black presence in casting rooms. He endured awkward auditions for predominantly white brands before linking with Ralph Lauren in 1993 and becoming the Polo poster child, a breakthrough compared to signing an NBA contract. His commercial success made him the highest-earning Black male model of that era and sustained a long reign. After decades at the top and an emotional falling out with Diddy, he stepped away from fashion, then reentered the spotlight following Beyoncé's encouragement.
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