Early Life and Career<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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As a shy, young Black girl growing up in the Bathurst and Bloor neighbourhood of \u00a0Toronto, Jean Fleming never imagined that she\u2019d soon be getting calls to walk the catwalk for Valentino and Oscar de la Renta after her very first runway show.<\/p>

Fleming, who is Jamaican and Scottish, was one of only a few people of colour in her childhood Annex neighbourhood. Attending Palmerston Public School and, later, Harbord Collegiate, the soon-to-be model was surrounded by Italian influences. This often left her feeling different from her white classmates who were fascinated by her textured hair and Jamaican features.<\/p>

\u201cIf you did see a Black person go by you just kind of felt, \u2018Do I know you, and are we related?\u2019\u201d laughs Fleming. \u201cThere weren’t a lot of us, so we embraced when we did see each other.\u201d<\/p>

Often being recognized for her \u201cexotic\u201d look, Fleming became familiar with many members of her local Black community. She soon caught the attention of several Black designers in Toronto.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Bronze Magic<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Describing herself as a \u201cprivate person,\u201d Fleming never thought she\u2019d find herself modelling. But, when the tall, beautiful, 20-something Fleming got scouted for her first runway show, her life changed forever.<\/p>

The show, titled Bronze Magic and produced by Len Henry, was an immediate hit as it celebrated beautiful Black women of all shades and heights. But Fleming was the night\u2019s definite star. After gracing the runway the night before, Fleming was shocked to see a full-page photo of herself on the front page of a local newspaper the following morning.<\/p>

\u201cPhone calls were coming in all over [asking] who I was and where did I come from and can they meet with me,\u201d Fleming remembers. \u201cIt wasn’t something that I was even planning to do! But I went, I did the fitting, I did the show and my picture ended up all over the newspapers. And I never looked back.\u201d<\/p>

A fellow member of that tight-knit Black fashion community was Donna Holgate, a longtime admirer of Fleming\u2019s. Holgate remembers brushing shoulders with Fleming at countless events. But it was Fleming\u2019s unique runway walk that she\u2019ll truly never forget. \u00a0\u201cI think of those little steps and her graceful walk down the runway,\u201d Holgate shares. \u201cI\u2019ve never seen a model walk like that. It was her signature.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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