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Even if Isis manages to win the upcoming cycle of the show, she may find it hard getting work when African-American biofemale models aren't rocking the runways like they used to.
The blackout in the modelling world has gotten so bad that if you want to see an African-American model strutting her stuff on stage in a fashion show, you'd better buy a ticket to the Ebony Fashion Fair when it hits your town.
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The February New York fashion shows were melanin-free, and in the European fashion capitals of London, Milan and Paris the situation was far worse. The article even reported that the situation is so bad that Miuccia Prada has gone ten years without using a Black model.
It's not like they can't find them. The modeling agencies have plenty of beautiful sisters that they're willing, able and ready to book, they just aren't getting called.
It's nothing like the 90's when sisters such as Iman, Tyra Banks, Naomi Campbell, Georgianna Robertson, Veronica Webb, Roshumba, Gail O'Neill, Cynthia Bailey and Phina were getting called and getting paid as well.
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Today, you can count the number of superstar Black models on one hand. Liya Kebede, Jaunel McKenzie, Chanel Iman and up and comer Jourdan Dunn.
The article delves into some causes for the blackout. Bethann Hardison points out that this problem isn't a recent phenomenon, it has been a decade in the making.
In addition to the racism in the industry, it cited the flood of Eastern European models that mirror the blond hair blue eyes beauty standard into the mix. It also touched on Asian designers preference to feature Asian models in their shows, the rising power of casting directors for fashion shows and the lack of African-Americans in decision making capacities in the fashion industry.
Whatever is causing the blackout, it needs to be fixed. The people buying those high end clothes aren't exclusively of European or Asian ancestry. The models strutting those catwalks need to reflect not only that reality, but the reality that this is a diverse, multicultural world as well.
4 comments:
*Jaw hits floor* Shows how much I follow fashion or at least Haute Couture. This is just unbelievably stupid. The runways should at least try to reflect the real worlds so wonderfully diverse mix.
The people buying those high end clothes aren't exclusively of European or Asian ancestry. The models strutting those catwalks need to reflect not only that reality, but the reality that this is a diverse, multicultural world as well.
What happened to the post racial world they have been trying to sell us? Sure it works if you are white and privileged but if you are a woman of color it means invisibility. We have not moved beyond white as the designation of beauty and that is a large part of the problem.
What post-racial world? We're not even close to achieving that.
Racism is rampant in fashion. Top photographer Nick Knight attests to that here:
http://www.showstudio.com/project/politicalfashion/season2/2008-07-28
The July issue of Vogue Italia even tries to address this by featuring only models of color. It seems like a one time big time thing though.:(
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