In the fast-paced world of fashion, few have the power to adapt to meet the ever- changing trends. Yet, with remarkable foresight and inventiveness, Audrey Smaltz has not only endured but thrived. After more than 60 years in the fashion industry, she has created a niche that secures her place as one of fashion’s most innovative entrepreneurs.

A proud New York native, Smaltz was born in 1937 and grew up in Harlem River Houses, a promising urban enclave that was also the childhood residence of the prominent psychiatrist Dr. Alvin Poussaint and the civil right leader Bob Moses. After attending the Harriet Beecher Stowe Girls Junior High School, Smaltz entered New York City’s High School of Music and Art. At age 16, she was offered her first modeling job with the then- New York Giants as one of Willie Mays’s “Say Hey” girls, booked by the late Mrs. Ophelia Devore of the Del Marco Model Agency. She later earned her B.A. from City College of New York and worked for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, she but continued to pursue her career as a model and fashion commentator.

Smaltz began to find her true footing in the fashion world when she was hired as a model and sales person at Bloomingdale’s in 1962, and then two years later became an assistant fashion coordinator. In 1965, she accepted a position with Lane Bryant Tall Gals, working as a model, buyer, and fashion coordinator.

In 1970 Smaltz was hired as the Fashion Editor for the Ebony Magazine and commentator the Ebony Fashion Fair in Chicago. Her exquisite style, irresistible charm, and down- to earth humor made her an instant hit on the fashion show circuit. Furthermore, Smaltz had a keen eye for clothes, something she honed on her trips to Europe with Fashion Fair’s founder, Eunice Johnson.

She also had a knack for turning adversity into opportunity. As Ebony magazine’s fashion reporter, she was often stuck in bad seats- or offered no seat at all- at European fashion shows. Undaunted, she went backstage to inspect the clothes, and seeing the chaos behind the scenes, she recognized an immediate need in the fashion industry. In 1977 she started The Ground Crew, a management team that handles every detail of backstage operations, including dressing the models to perfection. The name, “The Ground Crew®, is inspired by an1964 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech from Martin Luther King in which he states

“Every time I take a flight, I am always reminded of the people who make a successful journey possible- the known pilots and the unknown ground crew….You honor the ground crew without whose labor and sacrifices the jets flights to freedom could never have left the earth.”

Since 1982, The Ground Crew has worked for some of fashion’s top designers, including Giorgio Armani, Jason Wu, Donna Karan, Victoria’s Secret, Calvin Klein, Ferragamo, Michael Kors, Kanye West, Stephen Burrows, and Vera Wang, among others. Celebrities such as Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, and Jackie Joyner Kersey have also enlisted the outfit’s talents.

Smaltz herself has worked with numerous major corporations, among them, Macy’s, Sak’s Fifth Avenue, Vogue, Black Entertainment Television, Kmart. She was a contributing editor to Vogue, Mirabella, and Mode magazines and a board member of the Black Fashion Museum, Dress for Success Worldwide, the Gracie Mansion Conservancy, and Fashion Group International, and BRAG. She has also appeared on QVC, Oprah Winfrey and the Today Show, just to name a few.

In the fickle world of fashion, Smaltz has proven her staying power time and time again. More than a polished fashionista, she possesses business acumen and adaptability that are as sharp as her style. Her revolutionary approach paves the way for other enterprising fashion entrepreneurs, as well as giving inspiring makeup artists and stylist invaluable exposure. Equally important, it brings much –needed order and grace to an often- chaotic industry. After all, as Smaltz and her indispensable Ground Crew have demonstrated, beauty begins “behind the seams.”