Photo: Emma McIntyre/Getty
Beverly Johnson, thefirst Black woman to be on the cover ofVogue, made a fashionable appearance at Thursday’s Palm Springs International Film Awards.
The couple, who was seen mingling with stars likeCate BlanchettandMichelle Williams, both wore chic black attire for their rare appearance together at the award show.
Emma McIntyre/Getty
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Johnson’s tulle dress had a plunging neckline and thigh-high slit, which was the perfect way for her to show off her toned legs and pointy black heels. However, to keep the focus on the voluminous garment, she kept it simple with accessories, opting for dainty silver jewelry and silver hoops.
Maillian, a financier, complemented his fiancée’s outfit in a black and white tuxedo, completed with a black bow tie and black dress shoes.
Johnson, 70, and Maillian have been engaged for two years. The supermodelspoke to PEOPLE in 2020 about their relationshipand what it was like to find love later in life.
“Just finding the love of my life at this point in my life has been amazing,” she said. “This is the first time I’ve dated someone so close to my age! We know the same songs, and we’ve lived through a lot of the same things.”
One of those things they both had to live through was being trailblazers in their industries. “As I was breaking boundaries in the fashion industry, he was doing the same on Wall Street,” Johnson shared.
The model, who was also the first Black woman to be on the cover of the French edition ofElle, said she would never get married again before Maillian proposed.
“Brian’s 88-year-old mother took off her wedding ring and passed it down the table till it got to Brian and he got down on one knee,” Johnson told PEOPLE of how the proposal went down at a family event.
Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty
Johnson has also become a big critic of racism in the fashion industry in recent years. After decades of paving a path for Black talent to succeed in the industry, Johnson has started to tell her side of the story and vocalize the changes she wishes to see.
In 2020, the trailblazer wrote aWashington Postop-edabout racism in the fashion industry.
In the essay, she proposed “The Beverly Johnson rule.” She explained, “It’s similar to the Rooney Rule in the NFL that mandates that a diverse set of candidates must be interviewed for any open coaching and front office positions.”
Johnson proposed something similar for the fashion, beauty and media industries: “That at least two Black professionals be interviewed for influential positions.”
source: people.com
