Desiree Rogers leads group buying Johnson Publishing’s Fashion Fair cosmetics

Fashion Fair, once the largest black-owned cosmetics company in the world and a brand developed by Johnson Publishing Co., has been sold to investors that include Chicago business leader Desiree Rogers.

Rogers and Cheryl Mayberry McKissack, who were Johnson Publishing executives, will be majority owners of Fashion Fair. Hedge fund operator Alec Litowicz will hold a minority stake as a personal investment and not through his company, Evanston-based Magnetar Capital, the buyers said.

The sale was approved Thursday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court as part of the Chapter 7 liquidation of Johnson Publishing assets.

The same investors own the Black Opal line of skin-care and beauty products. Fashion Fair sold for $1.85 million, said a spokesman for Hilco Streambank, the firm that advised the bankruptcy trustee handling the sale.

“Fashion Fair is just too valuable for our community to lose,” Rogers said. “We plan to modernize the brand and products, but will remain true to the company’s roots, which was to create prestige products focused on women of color.”

The late Eunice W. Johnson created Fashion Fair in 1973, when few cosmetics companies developed products for people with darker skin tones. It grew from offering limited products, called a capsule collection, to a full line that was available in high-end department stores.

Mayberry McKissack said they are considering a new capsule-collection approach developed with customer input.

“We want to know which of our products are favorites amongst members of our community and what other products they would like to see from the brand,” Mayberry McKissack said. “This conversation will be important as we breathe new life into this iconic brand.”

Johnson Publishing declared bankruptcy in April after having sold its iconic Ebony and Jet publications. It suffered from a loss of advertising and subscription revenue common to media outlets in the digital age. In 2010, it sold its longtime home at 820 S. Michigan for $8 million to try to keep its business afloat.

Rogers joined Johnson Publishing as CEO after serving as White House social secretary under President Barack Obama. She formerly chaired the tourism agency Choose Chicago.