[Urban Stylin]

I still think we are hyping something minor while neglecting things that actually need the same aggression we put in attacking the ed. Huffpost should instead post about the Africans dying in Somalia, Sudan and elsewhere in the world which is being overlooked by the international community. They should also write about children facing racism in schools all around America as well as adults facing it in their jobs, churches etc. A Numero ed is mainly going to be seen by people in the industry, they probably used the wrong wording and apologized for it(we all know its a fashion industry apology anyway)
Using a black model for the same ed might be nice, actually Henrieth Paul may do a better job but then it puts black models in a situation where they are always being called upon whenever there is an African special for a magazine, I would rather see Black, White, Asian and Hispanic models in diverse editorials in Vogue, Allure and the like which are not specials or targetted to the black population.

[Urban Stylin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by iluvjeisa That's not news to anyone in this thread, I'd wager. Do you really think the Numero ppl used the term literally?!?

Thats what am also saying, we are just causing too much hype over nothing. They just used the word to describe the mood, maybe a thought of what an African queen would wear. If they had her in some regal pose with African subjects then I would be mad.

[Bahiyya]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Urban Stylin I don't get the so called controversy and wouldnt have wanted them to apologise or respond. The fashion depicted in the ed is more North African nomadic style fashion as opposed to East and South African fashion where the people are obviously darker. The tan gives her a more North African look and IMO a tan and blackface are 2 different entities. Those that are saying that they should have used a black model are also indirectly saying that the should only use blac models when they have a special feature like this one or the all black Italian Vogue which to me wont do anything towards bringing more models of colour to the runways. I have seen black models in Asian and European influenced eds and no one said anything, theres one I saw where the model's face was painted white yet no one found it offensive. As for painting her black, my skin looks nothing like that and am a black African(not event he darkest there is)

As a point of info there are, actually, darker skinned peoples who are indigenous to the North African region. This fact is eclipsed by the larger Arab presence.

I find Kim's apology sincere but he is problematically naive if he thinks darkening a white model's skin that much and placing her in African-inspired garb is not going to look ignorant. Referencing looks from a time period in which ideas about race & culture were even less progressive in many places, generally speaking, does not help .

Magazines do eds all the time in which white models are styled in "ethnic" prints and readers don't complain. I don't believe anyone is asking for African models to be hired for every ed that will feature a turban. Does the photographer want a model with brown skin (of whichever shade or hue), tho, to provide a a certain look? Then hire a brown-skinned model. It is too easy for editors to visualise Stella Tenant (for example) both in Buckingham palace and the Taj Mahal yet Lakshmi Menon (again, just another example) may not be used even for the Indian themed ed much less the more diverse eds we hope for her and others.