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From its very foundation, Villa Lewaro, a sprawling estate located in Irvington, New York, has stood as a monument to Black excellence.
The home once famously belonged to Madam C.J. Walker, the beauty and haircare entrepreneur, and America's first self-made female millionaire. It was commissioned by her daughter, legendary socialite A'Lelia Walker, and was designed by Vertner Woodson Tandy, the first Black registered architect in New York.
Built between 1916 and 1918, the Italianate-style mansion spans 20,000 square feet and boasts 34 luxuriously-decorated (and mostly preserved) rooms. A'Lelia Walker, once dubbed the "Joy Goddess of Harlem" was known to throw lavish fetes with the luminaries of the Harlem Renaissance at the property, hosting the likes of Zora Neale Hurston, W. E. B. Du Bois, and Langston Hughes.
Over the weekend, Villa Lewaro was home to yet another history-making moment: Kerby Jean-Raymond presented Pyer Moss's debut couture collection, making him the first Black designer to present during Paris Couture Week. Seeing as the collection itself was a joyous tribute to Black invention, reimagined through fashion, there couldn't have been a more appropriate venue for the groundbreaking show.
[Photos via @pyermoss, Historic New England]
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