Fabulous Photos of Fashion Model China Machado in the Late 1950s

Born 1929 in Shanghai, Chinese-American fashion model China Machado worked for Givenchy for three years and during this time, she became the highest-paid runway model in Europe, earning $1,000 a day. She was the first model of color to appear in a major American fashion magazine, in the February 1959 issue of Harper’s Bazaar.

China Machado in the late 1950s

Machado worked for Richard Avedon exclusively for three years before he got her a job as Harper’s Bazaar’s Senior Fashion Editor where, eventually, she became the Fashion Director and ventured into other endeavors in publishing, fashion, and television. In 1989, she was added to the International Best Dressed List.

In 1991, Machado opened a gallery in Watermill, New York, when she left the fashion industry. Among the photographers who exhibited in the gallery were Hiro, Avedon, Lillian Bassman, Mary Ellen Mark, and Barbara Bordnick. The gallery closed in 1998, when she retired. She returned to modeling and the public eye at age 82 with an article in W followed by interviews in the Spanish and German editions of Vogue, The Sunday Telegraph, and New York. She starred in an ad campaign for Cole Hann as well.

Machado died in 2016, a week before her 87th birthday, at Stony Brook University Hospital from cardiac arrest.

China Machado in beach dress of white cotton swiped with khaki and green by B.H. Wragge, photo by Lillian Bassman, Harper's Bazaar, December 1958

China Machado in orange print tunic over black shorts in Cone cotton by Brigance, photo by Lillian Bassman, Harper's Bazaar, December 1958

China Machado in Siamese tiger jacket that closes in back by Scaasi, photo by Gleb Derujinsky, Harper's Bazaar, November 1958

China Machado, pale damask dinner dress and jacket by Ben Zuckerman, hair by Kenneth, photo by Richard Avedon, New York studio, November 1958

China Machado in a brief knitted wool tunic that buttons up the side by Geist & Geist, photo by Richard Avedon, Harper's Bazaar, December 1959

China Machado in belted tunic dress of Dacron and cotton worn over white narrow pants byTina Leser, photo by Richard Avedon, Harper's Bazaar, December 1959

China Machado in black and white spotted silk surah dress belted in patent leather by Jean Patou, photo by Richard Avedon at La Pagode, Paris, Harper's Bazaar UK, March 1959

China Machado in blazing white parka of damask by White Stag, fur mittens and goggles by Andre Ski Shop, photo by Richard Avedon, Harper's Bazaar, December 1959

China Machado in blue and white gingham check tapered pants by Leonardo worn with white lamb's wool sweater by Bernhard Altmann, photo by Louis Faurer, Harper's Bazaar, December 1959

China Machado in cream Forstmann's wool coat by Zelinka-Matlick, black and white pearl bracelets by Verdura, fox stole from Reynard, photo by Richard Avedon, Harper's Bazaar, February 1959

China Machado in Dior's airiest silk dress with lace ruffles worn with black taffeta stole, photo by Richard Avedon, Paris studio, August 1959

China Machado in evening tunic of black lace ribbon-embroidered with sea flowers by Roberto Capucci, coiffure by Enrico Caruso, photo by Richard Avedon, Harper's Bazaar, October 1959

China Machado in full-skirted dress with obi-sash, print designed by Madame Yanagita, dress by Mr. Mort, Harper's Bazaar, January 1959

China Machado in lace evening gown by Jacques Griffe, photo by Richard Avedon, 1959

China Machado in lemon-colored notched cape that adds width at shoulder and almost reaches the belted waist of matching dress by Claude Rivière, photo by Richard Avedon, Harper's Bazaar UK, March 1959

China Machado in misty pointillist print of green, beige and yellow chiffon, the skirt flowers out in tiered panels to a point, by (YSL) Dior, photo by Richard Avedon, Harper's Bazaar, March 1959

China Machado in navy wool jumper silhouette with a sheer organdie collar and cloche by Dior, photo by Richard Avedon, Harper's Bazaar UK, March 1959

China Machado in off-white pebbly crêpe knit sweater and skirt by Dalton, photo by Melvin Sokolsky, Harper's Bazaar, December 1959

China Machado in silk shantung cocktail dress with large fold-over collar by Detlef Albers, Berlin, 1959

China Machado in silk ski jacket of black and beige on white filled with quilting with a matching cap by Emilio Pucci, photo by Richard Avedon, Harper's Bazaar, December 1959

China Machado in tiny blue and white check shirt with patch pockets and rolled sleeves by Lady Manhattan, photo by Louis Faurer, Harper's Bazaar, December 1959

China Machado, make-up by Elizabeth Arden, hat by Emme, earrings by Cartier, photo by Richard Avedon, Harper's Bazaar, February 1959

China Machado, photo by Peter Basch, 1959

China Machado, photo by Peter Basch, 1959

China Machado, photo by Peter Basch, 1959