Racial Diversity In Modeling

[_incognito]

57 looks at Saint Laurent, 1 Black model, 0 Asians

 

[mathiaskatz]

^ 1 Asian. Sora was there.

Not that makes a difference.

 

[_incognito]

^ 1 Asian. Sora was there.

Not that makes a difference.

Ah, sorry I must've missed her. You're right though, not much of a difference.

 

[Marc10]

Congratulations Paris! You now own the crown of city with the least diverse castings!

But don't be too sad Milan, there's always next season!

 

[saucer-like]

Cringing already at the hair + make-up descriptions of the upcoming looks at Valentino. Tribal? Dreadlocks? Can't wait..

 

[modelista]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/a...revealed-80-season-s-catwalk-stars-white.html

 

[Marc10]

Between the Catwalk and the Consumer: Fashion’s Growing Diversity Gap
Luxury fashion customers are more diverse than ever, but on catwalks and magazine covers, white models still dominate. Why doesn’t the industry reflect its consumer base?

LONDON, United Kingdom — Bethann Hardison remembers the days when, before every New York Fashion Week, “Casting directors would send out notices to all the modelling agencies in the city, saying 'no blacks, no ethnics' — we don’t want to see them.” Back then, the issue of diversity in the fashion industry had “got lost like a splinter,” says Hardison, a former model and founder of the Diversity Coalition, which works with industry bodies like the CFDA to raise awareness about racial diversity and discrimination in fashion.

In 2007, tired and frustrated, Hardison hosted a press conference in a New York hotel, where she publicly lambasted the industry’s lack of diversity. “From that moment on,” Hardison says, “No one has ever said that again.”

Since then, greater media coverage, the work of advocacy organisations such as the Diversity Coalition, and the willingness of high profile figures like Jourdan Dunn and Naomi Campbell to speak out about their experiences, has spotlighted the issue of diversity in the fashion industry. But this has not resulted in a significant rise in the number of models of colour walking the runways and gracing the covers of glossy magazines.

The consumers buying luxury fashion, however, are more diverse than ever before. Since 2007, Asia-Pacific’s share of the global luxury goods market has grown by ten percentage points, according to a report by Bain & Company, and today, the fastest growing luxury markets in the world are the Middle East and Africa. But as the non-western markets for fashion expand, the gap between consumers and catwalks is growing.

Over the last four weeks, BoF has surveyed 117 key shows from New York, London, Milan and Paris Fashion Weeks. The data gathered reveals that white models still make up the vast majority of those appearing on the catwalk. According to BoF’s calculations, of the 3,875 model bookings that were made during these four weeks, only 797 were models of colour (categorised as black, Asian, non-white Hispanic and other), meaning that 79.4 percent of the models that walked the runway were white. Black models were the highest represented minority, accounting for 10.2 percent of bookings, followed by Asian models at 6.5 percent and ‘other’ models, including those of Indian and Middle Eastern descent, at 2.3 percent. Hispanic models accounted for only 1.6 percent of model bookings made.

BoF’s data was only a representative sample of these fashion weeks, based on information gathered from the shows that we reviewed during this period, but our results echo those found by other industry surveys. In February, The Fashion Spot published a report on the four fashion weeks for Autumn/Winter 2015, which found a similar divide, with non-white models making up only 20 percent of all catwalk appearances.

White models also dominate editorial coverage and advertising campaigns. In Fashionista’s round up of 2015’s ‘September Issues’ — widely regarded as the most important issue of the year for fashion magazines — only 12 of the 41 covers featured men or women of colour and racially diverse cover stars were predominantly celebrities rather than models. Last year, just under 20 percent of fashion magazine covers featured models of colour, according to data collected by The Fashion Spot. Diversity was most lacking in fashion advertising, with white models making up almost 85 percent of those cast in campaigns, according to another report by The Fashion Spot.

The fashion industry’s lack of diversity extends to those working behind the scenes. Data recently collected by The New York Times revealed that African-American designers accounted for approximately 12 of the CFDA’s 470 and helmed only 2.7 percent of the 260 shows scheduled for New York Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2015. “More often, [I’m] the only person of colour in the room,” says Tracy Reese, an African-American designer who has dressed the likes of Michelle Obama.

“It’s not a particularly diverse industry,” says Robin Givhan, fashion editor of The Washington Post, who says there is a connection between the decision makers and the dominance of white models. “We are drawn to people who look like us,” she says. “Unless they’re making a conscious decision to deviate from the standard, then the standard is what they go for. And [their] standard is blonde and blue eyed.”

Historically, the fashion industry has also been centred in the West — with its most significant companies, such as Kering and LVMH, and its fashion weeks all based there. “The fashion press has been covering only four cities,” points out Frédéric Godart, an assistant professor of organisational behaviour at INSEAD. “For a lot of people in the world, fashion is Paris, New York, Milan and London.” As a result, the industry has evolved to cater primarily for a Western consumer.

Ashley Mears, an assistant sociology professor at Boston University and author of Pricing Beauty: The Making of a Fashion Model, says the lack of diversity is much more of a problem at the luxury end of the spectrum, which is “aimed at a very narrow consumer base.” By contrast, mass-market fashion tends to be much more ethnically diverse. “You never see people complaining about a catalogue — ‘Where’s diversity?’ They’ve really covered their bases,” says Mears. Indeed, value fashion grounds its advertising in customer research, often operating on the understanding that the consumer wants to see himself or herself represented. “They know who their customers are,” Mears says.

But luxury brands’ model castings aren’t unthinking — rather, they are careful marketing. “Fashion isn’t about selling real life,” says Reina Lewis, professor of cultural studies at London College of Fashion, who says that it is the same principle of exclusivity that means luxury fashion is only shown on young, skinny bodies, as on white bodies. “Even something ostensibly real, like normcore, is only cool when it’s shown on slim, youthful bodies — not on 50-year-olds.”

“High-end advertising operates on a principle of not only aspiration, but also on a principle of unattainability — something that is so fantastic and so beautiful that it is damn near impossible to achieve,” agrees Mears.

Another part of the appeal of luxury fashion brands — as well as their aesthetic exclusivity — is their European heritage, says Frédéric Godart. “The fashion industry was born in Northern Italy and France, and then spread to the UK and other countries and the US. A lot of big brands were born there,” Godart told BoF. “These brands have a long history,” he added, which is important to the customers buying into them.

The “myth and ideal of the western product” is part of what luxury fashion brands are selling to emerging markets, says Lewis. When a customer in China buys a Chanel handbag, they are buying a Chanel handbag from the iconic, Parisian brand. “So it needs to not look too much like something local, even if it might be made in China,” says Lewis.

Brands’ desire to emphasise their Western history can account for some of the lack of diversity in campaigns, agrees Elizabeth Wissinger, associate professor of fashion studies at City University of New York, who says that brands often choose to depict their historic customer base, rather than their more diverse modern one. “It might be more [diverse] now, but that was not the norm. So the meaning doesn’t resonate with the history and tradition of whatever the brand was, because that brand usually catered to elite who were not of colour.”

These brands have also inherited the West’s preconceived ideals of beauty. “Fashion didn’t invent the tendency to regard certain types of Caucasian bodies as beautiful. There’s a pre-history in art, literature and drama, of presenting a certain type of European as the cultural ideal,” explains Reina Lewis, who says that, while some physical details might have changed — body weight, for example — “the conceptualisation of whiteness as a quality of the beautiful body has remained constant.”

However, “fashion houses do listen,” says Godart. “If their customers want something, they will oblige.” In particular, the recent uptick in Asian models has been interpreted by many as brands’ reactions to the growing significance of Chinese customers in the global luxury fashion market.

However, many are wary that this development could be merely a cosmetic trend, arguing that it is still too statistically small to be significant.

“It’s really surface level,” says Minh-Ha Pham, assistant professor at Cornell University and co-author of fashion politics blog, Threadbared. Pham says there is a danger in only offering diversity when the market demands it. “It’s okay when Asia is becoming this new and important market, but what happens when the economy begins to slow down? All of a sudden those consumers are no longer important.”

Including Asian models in shows in a bid to win important Chinese consumers also “rests on a logical assumption that people of colour want to see other people of colour, and that is what sells fashion, and that is what drives fashion, but that’s not necessarily true,” says Mears.

Reina Lewis argues that racialised hierarchies of beauty, which prioritise whiteness, exist all over the world — something attested to by the popularity of relaxing and straightening products for Afro hair, or skin-lightening creams. “In many cultures paler skin is preferred as a sign of beauty.”

Furthermore, the rarity of models of colour reinforces the idea of whiteness as the “accepted aesthetic,” Pham explains. “[Whiteness] is seen as a kind of universal human identity.” Therefore, “when Asian or African bodies do register, they tend to stand out,” agrees Lewis.

“I still see collections presented where you’ll have a model on the runway, and then all of a sudden there will be four black models in succession, as if somehow they must be grouped together,” says Robin Givhan, who describes how some fashion brands approach race as if it is an “aesthetic flourish.”

Some see the changing ways that people consume fashion — no longer only through the lens of high-end editorial and luxury advertising campaigns, but online, through blogs and social media — as a harbinger for diversity in the industry.

“They’ve opened up the space beyond magazines,” says Elizabeth Wissinger, associate professor of sociology and fashion studies at City University of New York, who argues that the Internet has enabled the rise of influencers outside the fashion industry’s traditionally narrow definition of beauty.

“There’s a whole host of user-generated imagery out there… that’s been really important in making visible different types of ethnicity,” agrees Lewis, who says bloggers and social media platforms “have been incredibly important in putting up a range of imagery that validates people’s choices and that widens the frame in which people can understand themselves.”

As these influences draw large audiences, “the fashion industry starts noticing them,” says Wissinger, who explains how the industry’s slow realisation of the potential profitability of these communities encourages brands “to go for these new markets and accept them and pull them into the fashion fold.”

As the balance of who is controlling fashion’s imagery shifts away from elite luxury fashion houses, alternative understandings of beauty will be allowed to come to the forefront. But, for as long as those in charge remain preoccupied with Western ideals of whiteness, the image of the fashion industry on the catwalk will continue to look very different to its consumers.

businessoffashion


So great to see a big vehicle like BoF running a story on the issue!

 

[Benn98]

“It’s really surface level,” says Minh-Ha Pham, assistant professor at Cornell University and co-author of fashion politics blog, Threadbared. Pham says there is a danger in only offering diversity when the market demands it. “It’s okay when Asia is becoming this new and important market, but what happens when the economy begins to slow down? All of a sudden those consumers are no longer important.”

This pretty much sums up my opinion of the influx, and eventual decline of Asian faces in the industry. It worrying that Angelica Cheung backed Du Juan, not only to appeal to her native readers, but also serve as a rival to Gisele/Kate/Natasha etc. Somehow that never quite panned out well, possibly because there wasn't nearly as much support/interest in her as there had been for the others.

 

[maimon]

i dont know if fashion week other than in NY, London, Milan ,Paris has been discussed here but as a japanese im really not proud to see how at Tokyo fashion week there is particularly no diversity at all!

only some of the well-known brands (or the small ones who cant afford to pay foreign models) have a few of japanese or half-japanese models in their shows… and Wanessa Milhomem was probably like the only brazilian girl this season (she looked amazing opening Dresscamp!)

i know this admiration about the foreign, cute doll-like looking aesthetics in Japan is nothing new but i feel like its not modern anymore to think that way.


also found an article about last season: Lack of Japanese models at Tokyo Fashion Week raises eyebrows

 

[TheoG]

^ What a shame, now that you've brought that to my attention it was rather noticeable. I know that agency especially the European agencies send tons of girls because the look Japanese are fond off and for development purposes. Its just sad to see that they can't even get the opportunity to thrive in their own market. I also agree, that particular look is quite dated now.

But just across the Korea Strait in Seoul, their fashion week is dominated by Korean models, ones we're familiar with too. During a show you might see spot two to three Caucasian models.

 

[Marc10]

Our Runways, Ourselves: The Search for Diversity During Fashion Month

As a goal, runway diversity—that is, a model casting with a mix of ethnicities that accurately represents our society—remains elusive. Each season the topic is addressed with statistics, think pieces, and a general sense of urgency, yet the discussion never seems to translate into any real action. Though the progress ebbs and flows, the catwalks of New York, Milan, and Paris remained largely whitewashed, much to the chagrin of onlookers, who, more often than not, found themselves confronted with a decidedly old-fashioned lineup of quasi-clones in a season otherwise bent on celebrating eclecticism and individuality.

The facts remain that models of color (namely those of African, Latino, indigenous, or Asian descent) regularly face an uphill battle when it comes to landing spots in fashion’s biggest shows. But Spring 2016 did provide some of the first hints of headway: For the first time ever, a model of color earned the spot of top walker. The Dominican model Lineisy Montero appeared on the runway for 68 separate fashion houses. And she wasn’t alone: Japanese rising star Mona Matsuoka snagged 38 shows, American Binx Walton walked 37, and Angolan newcomer Amilna Estevão netted 35. With a focus on quality over quantity, the trio managed to make their presence felt on nearly every high-profile runway. But appearing as part of the cast is only half the battle: It’s not just whether you get asked to walk, but where you end up in the lineup. Designers often save the opening spot in their shows for the young women they feel epitomize the collection as a whole, and this Spring saw several houses choosing minority models for their prestige position, from Fernanda Ly at Louis Vuitton and Selena Forrest at Proenza Schouler to Grace Bol at Giles and Nirvana Naves at J.W.Anderson.

The Fashion Spot’s comprehensive diversity report breaks down the month further, providing data on a city-by-city basis. Milan Fashion Week ranked lowest in diversity, with white models making up more than 80 percent of all featured within its shows. This made Bottega Veneta’s impressive Mica Arganaraz–led show seem all the more important, as its impressive cast featured Liya Kebede, Joan Smalls, Marga Esquivel, and Dylan Xue, and provided a city known for its oft-exclusionary beauty standards—most infamously the “no black models” signs at castings several years ago—with a refreshing new template.

Many casting directors embraced faces representative of modern, multicultural beauty, like at Givenchy, where the debut of Hawaii-bred Kailey Hsu provided added excitement to a star-studded lineup, or at Proenza Schouler, who introduced the world to Shelby Hayes and her curly ’fro. Alice Metza stood out as one of the month’s It girls, booking nearly every show of note, and Prada served as a showcase for Yasmin Wijnaldum’s uniquely winsome look. Half-French-Canadian, half-Chinese rising star Mae Lapres continued her climb to the top with appearances at Gucci and Rodarte. The shift toward multicultural models has also led to the rise of talent from regions previously underrepresented within fashion, like the Dominican Republic and Jamaica. And Bhumika Arora and Pooja Mor continue to serve as India’s most fashionable model duo.

While these moments provide a hopeful outlook, there is still plenty of work to be done. Models of color still make up only about one-fourth of all models featured on the runway. According to a recent Business of Fashion study, only 797 of the 3,875 model bookings this season were models of color. In order for the runways to truly represent the world that we live in, that number has to rise. New York—always ahead of the curve when it comes multiracial casts—set the standard with shows like Alexander Wang, Chromat, Creatures of the Wind, Yeezy, and Brother Vellies, all of which utilized an array of faces from around the globe to represent not only the beauty of the current lineup of models, but the diversity of the latest generation of consumers. And really, given fashion’s global focus, with increasing attention paid to foreign markets and the online world of retail, the choice to include an assortment of races and cultures isn’t just good casting, it’s good business.

vogue


Thank you Janelle for the article and the shout-out

 

[maimon]

^ What a shame, now that you've brought that to my attention it was rather noticeable. I know that agency especially the European agencies send tons of girls because the look Japanese are fond off and for development purposes. Its just sad to see that they can't even get the opportunity to thrive in their own market. I also agree, that particular look is quite dated now.

But just across the Korea Strait in Seoul, their fashion week is dominated by Korean models, ones we're familiar with too. During a show you might see spot two to three Caucasian models.

im not that familiar with the korean modeling business but i can also imagine that their market of high fashion/runway models is much bigger than in Japan where the commercial/magazine-tied models are still dominating… but thats no excuse of course!

 

[miwa]

im not that familiar with the korean modeling business but i can also imagine that their market of high fashion/runway models is much bigger than in Japan where the commercial/magazine-tied models are still dominating… but thats no excuse of course!

Yeah and I also noticed that there are a lot of popular hapa girls in Japan, but they're usually mixed with white. Like Kiko Mizuhara, Rola, Mona Matsuoka etc. Even actresses like Erika Sawajiri.

 

[katcty]

Something that's been bugging me about racial diversity when it comes to beauty campaigns and contracts is that when it is a model of color people always want to offer up an alternative. They always say things like "if they wanted an asian, they should have gotten *insert* instead of her." "If they wanted someone to appeal to the black market *insert* would be better." I actually find that quite rude. The worst is the fact that companies and consumers can't seem to handle more than one model of a certain ethnic group working with a company.

 

[_incognito]

I haven't done any counting this season, but it does seem that New York has been pretty great about diversity so far, no?

Anyone have any hard numbers?

 

[_incognito]

So many diverse casts, and none of it seems forced!

Really loved DKNY.


The curly, natural hair "trend" is really cool as well.

 

[nataliaapple]

Definitely has been a little better. I appreciate all the natural hair I've seen.

Seems the makeup and hair remains an issue behind the scenes though: http://www.refinery29.com/2016/02/103432/model-leomie-anderson-black-makeup-artist-twitter

 

[maimon]

article on nowfashion: http://nowfashion.com/is-this-fashion-week-s-most-diverse-season-yet-18667

 

[Riseup]

Milan's been stepping it up, definitely its most diverse season ever.

 

[squilliam]

If you're such a great make up artist or hairstylist that you get to work at the biggest fashion shows, you should know how to work with and be prepared for all skin colors and textures. I guess they so rarely see models of color they don't even bother. I wonder what Pat McGrath thinks about the make up situation.

Also, I feel like diversity makes for a more interesting line up, better than seeing 30 girls that all look the same. But most of the world still sees that European beauty is the ideal, and in some countries they bleach they're skin or have surgery to look more European because they can't see their own beauty. I remember living in Iraq and everyone telling me how beautiful I was with my light blonde hair and pale skin and green eyes, and all the other girls were told to stay out of the sun and put lemon juice on their skin and hair to make it lighter. My dad's family loves it when a new member is born with light hair and light eyes. They always talk about how they were blonde when they were little, and like having blue or green eyes. Because that has for a long time been the ideal. It's 2016, isn't it time we change that? The fashion industry has the power to reduce this old way of thinking. Think about it like this, if an alien asked to see a picture of a human, what would you show them?

I guess I'm just being preachy.