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Section II Page 6 Portland Observer M ay 7.1981
Back stage at the Ebony Fashion Fair
By Kathryn Hall Bogle
Backstage at Ebony Fashion Fair
is a beehive - under control.
Robert H. Fentress, a vice
president in direction o f Circulation
for the Johnson Publishing Com
pany, Inc., is in charge o f
backsiage. There lie is Production
C oordinator fo r Ebony Fashion
Fair.
Fentress has been in charge since
the early days of the Ebony Fashion
Fair, and he plans to keep right on
doing what he so much enjoys.
Fentress organizes the show’ s
itin e ra ry. Organizing to Fentress
means checking out the re a lib ility
and other qualificatio ns o f each
local sponsor. He checks out
(months before hand) the place
where the local sponsor expects the
show to be staged - fo r the stage
must have the necessary dimensions
for exact tim ing and pacing o f the
show. The lig h tin g must be
adequate and modern, technicians
must be available and dressing
rooms must meet qualifications.
Then, i f Fentress and the show
are to be in your neiglibuiliood, and
you can accept the date he offers -
you may have the show
The show this year, has been in
Anchorage, Alaska. It came from
there, by air, to Portland. By bus,
the show and personnel went from
Portland to Seattle. By air, the show
goes from Seattle to Denver. It will
again resort to its Greyhound for
shorter hops after Denver until mid-
May. They disband then fo r the
season. In all, 174 shows.
Fentress keeps an eye out on the
million dollar wardrobe to see that it
is packed and unpacked under tight
security controls everywhere. He
watches over the well being o f the
entire staff. In Portland, someone
became ill and Frentress obtained
the services o f a physician. It hap
pens once in a while.
Fentress watches the individua l
performances o f models, and he
tries to keep the young people from
getting too homesick during their
long months on the road away from
friends and family. He is concerned
about them.
Staff is fairly constant. “ Models
are replaced every year,” says he,
"O n ly two out o f every year's crop
are kept as holdovers fo r a new
season.” This keeps new faces and
the crisp freshness for which Ebony
Fashion Fair is noted.
New models are signed on back
in Chicago, not on the road. Ebony
Magazine picks up the tab for air-
flight for personal interviews once
an applicant has her bid to enter the
highly competitive selection process.
Female models ages run from 18 to
23 generally. Popular size, size 8;
average height, 5-8” 5-I0.”
“ The Ebony Fashion Fair, once
playing to nearly solid Black
audiences, is now numbering more
and more whites in its patrons - even
in the deep south,” says the veteran
Showman Fentress. "Audiences are
draw ing in more younger people
too, we have noticed,” Fentress ad
ded.
“ We started w ith ten cities and
now we play 174 shows in the fu ll
seasons. We have a fall show and a
springtime show with a Christmas
break in between.
“ Our future looks bright for add
ing a few more local sponsors,”
Fentress says with satisfaction. “ We
offer a good bargain to the public.
They get to see a good show, they
get a subscription to a fine
magazine, and they realize they are
contributing to a good charity for
each ticket they buy. Now where
else can such a bargain be found?”
There is no available answer to that
one. Where else, indeed?
“ N ow ” Fentress muses, “ I f we
could get people to put their ticket
stubs where we can get them, to fill
their subscription preferences
prom ptly.”
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