The American Legend Cooperative (ALC) was an agricultural marketing cooperative of mink fur farmers in the United States and Canada, best known for its Blackglama, American Legend, and older LEGEND brands of fur. American Legend was formed in 1986 as a merger of the Great Lakes Mink Association (GLMA) and the Mutation Mink Breeders Association (EMBA). It was acquired by North American Fur Auctions in 2018.
The Great Lakes Mink Association (GLMA) was formed in 1941 by mink breeders in the Great Lakes region of the United States who bred a black-furred mink which they characterize as "the richest, deepest, most lustrous dark mink with the lightest, most flexible leather", and trademarked it as Blackglama. Their long-running advertising campaign is known by the tagline "What becomes a legend most?", featuring a series of celebrities modeling their furs. The name "Blackglama" is a play on the word "glamor" and the initialism "GLMA".
The Mutation Mink Breeders Association (MMBA) was formed in 1942 by mink ranchers specializing in clear bright fur colors, to which they gave distinctive trade names: Autumn Haze (brown), Desert Gold (light brown), Argenta (grey), Cerulean (blue), Lutetia (gunmetal), Azurene (pale grey), Jasmine (white), Tourmaline (pale beige), Arcturus (lavender beige), Diadem (pale brown), Aeolian (grey taupe).Richard M. Shackelford, "Domestic Production of Mink and Foxes", Proceedings of the Twenty-Ninth annual National Breeders' Roundtable, 1980. full text In 1948, they adopted the name EMBA; EMBA used the trademark "The American Mink".
In April 2018, North American Fur Auctions acquired the American Legend Cooperative and its Blackglama brand."Cascadia Capital Advises American Legend Cooperative in its Acquisition by North American Fur Auctions", April 19, 2018
Membership Membership in the American Legend Cooperative was open to active mink farmers in the United States or Canada who had sold over 1200 mink pelts at American Legend auctions within the previous year and who were approved by the cooperative's Board of Directors.
'Blackglama - What Becomes a Legend Most' Spokesmodels 1968: Lauren Bacall, Bette Davis, Judy Garland, Melina Mercouri, Barbra Streisand 1969: Joan Crawford, Marlene Dietrich, Lena Horne 1970: Brigitte Bardot, Maria Callas, Rita Hayworth, Leontyne Price, Barbara Stanwyck, Rosalind Russell 1971: Claudette Colbert, Paulette Goddard, Ruby Keeler 1972: Pearl Bailey, Carol Burnett, Carol Channing, Ethel Merman 1973: Peggy Lee, Liza Minnelli, Diana Ross 1975: Mary Martin, Beverly Sills, Raquel Welch 1976: Martha Graham, Margot Fonteyn, Lillian Hellman, Rudolf Nureyev 1977: Shirley MacLaine, Suzy Knickerbocker, Liv Ullmann, Diana Vreeland 1978: Faye Dunaway, Joan Fontaine (later reprinted as the cover of her autobiography 'No Bed of Roses'), Helen Hayes 1979: Lillian Gish, Angela Lansbury, Renata Scotto 1980: Myrna Loy, Ann Miller, Maggie Smith, Lana Turner 1981: Luciano Pavarotti, Gloria Swanson, Natalie Wood 1982: Julie Andrews, Sophia Loren 1983: Elizabeth Taylor 1984: Lucille Ball, Dinah Shore 1985: Ann-Margret 1986: Cher 1987: Audrey Hepburn 1988: Catherine Deneuve 1990: Ray Charles 1991: Jessica Tandy 1992: Jessye Norman 1993: Debbie Reynolds 1994: Tommy Tune 2001: Linda Evangelista 2002: Gisele Bündchen 2004: Cindy Crawford 2005: Elle Macpherson 2007: Naomi Campbell 2008: Elizabeth Hurley 2010, 2011: Janet Jackson 2012: Ginta Lapina 2013: Carolyn Murphy 2014: Hilary Rhoda 2015: Jessica Stam 2017: Daphne Groeneveld
Communications ALC is a founding member of the North American Fur Industry Communications group (NAFIC),North American Fur Industry Communications group (NAFIC). established in 2013 as a cooperative public educational program for the fur industry in Canada and the USA. Its slogan is "Truth About Fur".
References
External links American Legend Blackglama American Legend Auctions ALC Business