Racial Diversity In Modeling

[bismarck]

Regarding miss Campbell's message on this issue, I can only hope she sees that all races should be embraced and not one race outshining another. I hope she sees that there are purpose in this world and reasoning that is more meaningful than to make arguments for argument sake. After all, Vogue (IMO) is a bit monotonous, repetitious, lacking in variety, and dull, dull, dull from their stories, editorials, ads and their covers. So, is it truely going to change any of those boring stories, editorial and ads by putting more ethinic models on their cover, let alone more black models? Hope I didn't come across harsh

I don't think you came across as harsh, but I really don't understand why you'd think she thinks one race is better than the other. She said "equal prominence" not "more prominence". Totally agree about Vogue's...patheticness, I'll put it.

I wonder why there aren't more Arab women in magazines if they put certain women on the cover to represent certain demographics. Correct me if I'm wrong but it definitely seems like a lot of the oil-rich countries are dropping tons of cash on designer goods. And don't tell me it's because they're too conservative to allow modelling; some of their popstars are quite racy and sexy.

 

[ChristionCouture]

This subject saddens me. Vogue and other international magazines are about setting the standard. They force everything else down your throat, why can't they force diversity down it too?! It doesn't matter if you live in an "all white" society. (Does that even exist?) The fact is, there are more than White people in this world. Don't you want to see that? In fact, the Black race is the second largest race in the world. To ignore and downplay people of African decent is simply not acceptable. People of African decent (I try to avoid the word Black, but there is no other general word) have made wonderful contributions to the fashion industry. Groundbreakers like Pat McGrath, the top make-up artist in the world. Naomi Campbell, not just a Black supermodel, but one of the biggest and most groundbreaking runway models to ever live.

And why are Black models required to be born in Africa? There are black people spread throughout various different parts of the world. Is this some sort of unspoken rule? Are American Blacks not authentic enough? Are Sweedish Blacks not authentic enough? Blacks come in a variety of colors and shades, a mirage of features and attributes. We don't all look like Alek Wek. Besides not featuring Blacks on covers, what about Asians? Do they not exist? Why can't they grace an American Vogue cover? Do they not live in America? What about biracial people? I guess we don't exist either. This is absolutely unacceptable and it must be addressed! I could go on and on, but I'll end it by saying this.... I don't want to see all Blacks, I dont' want to see all Asians, and I don't want to see all Whites. I want to see everyone! I was raised in NYC, a diverse place, a fashion capital. Think about all of the great design talents that never persued fashion based on the lack of successful Black designers in high fashion. Think about all of the talent that we missed out on. Think about all of the beautiful and incredibly unique people we didn't get a chance to see because some fool in a casting room doesn't hire people (or has a limit of one or two people) of a certain skin color and race. Think about all of the incredible covers that we could have seen, if only there were more diversity in fashion. **SIGHS**

 

[Yanka]

there is no top model who is black in last few years... instead of being more open , i mean they thaught us that in schools, it is like the rasism is silently expanding. so, naomi i s right, but that is not enough. amd what about designers? why isn't there a single black designer?
this is really unfair. on one hand, the whole american music scene is based on hip hop and rnb... but the other parts of art are reserved for white people.

well, that's not true, there are some influencial black fashion designers, for example Patrick Robinson or Ozwald Boateng. I agree, though, there are far less of them than designer of white or asian decsent. But it's a kind of a simliar argument to why is there so many famous gay men designers and so little straight men designers? Maybe because they're simply more inclined & interested in this industry?

 

[LeBelAge]

.... I don't want to see all Blacks, I dont' want to see all Asians, and I don't want to see all Whites. I want to see everyone! I was raised in NYC, a diverse place, a fashion capital. Think about all of the great design talents that never persued fashion based on the lack of successful Black designers in high fashion. Think about all of the talent that we missed out on. Think about all of the beautiful and incredibly unique people we didn't get a chance to see because some fool in a casting room doesn't hire people (or has a limit of one or two people) of a certain skin color and race. Think about all of the incredible covers that we could have seen, if only there were more diversity in fashion. **SIGHS**

I so COMPLETELY agree with you.

 

[sethii]

this year russian vogue put naomi campbell and eugenia mandzhieva on their cover (ok those girls are british and russian but still )

did any other vogue use non european looking people for the covers this year?

 

[ChristionCouture]

Ozwald doesn't work for Givenchy anymore and his own line isn't doing well. Patrick doesn't work for Paco anymore, but he's GAP's new front man. Not necessarily high fashion.

 

[Yanka]

Ozwald doesn't work for Givenchy anymore and his own line isn't doing well. Patrick doesn't work for Paco anymore, but he's GAP's new front man. Not necessarily high fashion.

well, i doubt that has anything to do with them being black and more to do with not being talented or business-savy enough. And Paco R. was dead before Robinson ever came there.

 

[Luxx]

Interesting. I would say that the issue isn't just the lack of black models but the lack of minority models in general. I feel as though there is a lack of exposure given to models who are African, Hispanic, Asian, Indian, Arab and so on so forth. There are many talented girls but they just aren't given the exposure they deserve. I don't feel as though this is a conscious occurrence most of the time rather I think its just a sort of ignored issue. Designers come up with a look - they have a set vision of how the girls should be and they forget sometimes that their vision might exclude people. There are instances of discrimination but I think on the whole the issues with model selection have more to do with people just not thinking outside the box.

The prevailing look right now is very uniform. As beautiful as many of the top girls are there is a sense that they look alike on some levels. We may be able to discern the differences but give a picture of Gemma, Sasha and Lily (just using them as examples) to the average person and they might not even be able to pick one from the other. I remember when the Top Models cover of Vogue came out - most of my friends who didn't know the models by name complained that all the girls looked identical. The beauty ideal can be quite narrow - there are so many different ways in which people can be beautiful but I feel as though the magazines aren't showing that in the fullest possible manner. Especially now as society becomes more multicultural. Magazines are expanding into new markets - from Bangkok to Bombay to Boise, Idaho - everyone is reading fashion magazines and/or seeing ads. Its only right that beauty from all those places is represented. Granted you can't technically please everyone but an effort should be made at this point.

Fashion, perhaps more than anything else has this great ability to cross cultures. Everyone needs clothes. We've all got different taste but at the end of the day unless you're a nudist you're going to need something to put on your back. People look to magazines and media for ideas/inspiration so its a wonderful feeling when you can open up a Vogue or an Bazaar and see someone who represents your heritage. It sort of says - this is beautiful too. Its easy to forget that images have that sort of power.

I think magazines/designers need to open up their eyes and see that their vision can be represented in different ways. I don't want to see just any one type of model. How cool would it be to see a Prada ad with Sasha and Kinee? An editorial with Agyness, Daul, Irina and Sessilee? Or a cover of Vogue Nippon that actually features a Japanese model? That would be incredible! Diversity is one of the things I would love to see an increase of in fashion. It can only benefit the industry at this point - what's not to love about more beautiful girls?

Oh goodness I didn't mean to write an essay

 

[kahlilg]

^^ So eloquently and beautifully put. Nice job.
+karma

 

[eternitygoddess]

Maybe most prominent models are white because the high-fashion market is mostly populated by Western designers and Western fashion.

It'd be kind of odd to seen an Arabian girl modeling some Dior Ballgown.

 

[sethii]

^ why would that be odd?

 

[carioca]

Vogue and other international magazines are about setting the standard. They force everything else down your throat, why can't they force diversity down it too?

that's a fantastic point that people have failed to see. Fashion magazines, designers, etc are the ones who tell us what is in fashion, what to wear, what to look like. so i don't understand when people say "Vogue is just catering to what is in style" or whatever....yet they are the ones who have the power to change the standard. like someone said earlier in this thread, everyone has been taught to think that beauty is white. i mean there have been progress and you do see more diversity, but sometimes magazines just try to stay with the norm. so i agree that it's time for a change, and wouldn't that help magazines sell more because you are catering to a larger audience.

maybe it has something to do with the fact that, sadly, the vast majority who read magazines like Vogue (europe or america), Bazaaer, W, L'officiel etc. and can actually afford stuff advertised (which is what counts for advirtisers), are white. People tend to associate themsevles with other people of their ethnicity. It's not about appreciating, it's about being able to associate yourself with the image. I am white and I find Alek Wek beauituful, but do I want to look like her or do I know anyone who looks like her that I can look up to? Not really. I am from Eastern Europe and the first time I saw a black person in real life, I was 12. If these ethnicity has no prominant social or economical position in my society, why should it be feautured on the cover of popular fashion mags?

yes you are right in saying that most who can afford these designers are prominent and well off white people. but i think Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, etc are more concerned with selling their magazines. and you can't say that a black, asian, hispanic, etc can't afford a magazine because they surely can afford them.
and i'm not trying to attack you at all, but just because YOU do not see black people everyday and YOU can't relate to a model of colour, doesn't mean that we shouldn't have them on covers. because your hometown/city/area doesn't have a large ethnic population doesn't mean that the rest of the world isn't diverse. there are over 6 billion people in the world, and if you compare the number of people w/ European ethnicity to the rest of the world's ethnic races, they are the minority.

 

[eternitygoddess]

^ why would that be odd?

Because it looks so out of place.

 

[Yanka]

^ why would that be odd?

Yeah, exactly. Arabs love their luxury fashion.

 

[J'ador-DioR]

Because it looks so out of place

Oh god..you do know that a large portion of couture costumers hail from the wealthy Arab countries which are largely populated by insanely rich, oil tycoon's whose wives dress in nothing but high end fashion?

Campbell has a point. I don't think there's anything she or anyone else can do about this matter, unfortunately. The fact remains that an issue of Vogue won't sell well if it's got a black model on the front cover. Remember the uproar this forum has experienced when US Vogue put Chanel Iman on it's cover? ...Ultimately, no one cares and therefore nothing will change.

 

[kimair]

Oh, please. Even if Campbell got her way and more black models were featured in Vogue, what would the advantage be? The only thing that'd come out of that move would be controversy and debate, and we really don't need anymore of that. She needs to learn there are more important things in life than certain races being featured in the pages of a magazine.

the advantage would be that there would be more diversity in the fashion and beauty world...
and yes, there may be more important things in the world, but opportunity and equality for everyone is certainly one of them, at least to me...

I don't know why people need to complain about this subject ... black or white, doesn't matter we're all humans, we're all the same, we have the same obligations and the same rights !

we complain because it seems like nothing is being done to change the situation, and change doesn't happen without someone making it happen...
if we're all "humans" and we have the same obligations and the same rights, then there should be more diversity...

i completely agree with christiancouture...
look at the influence vogue has...
if it wasn't for vogue, you'd never know about proenza schouler, doo ri., etc. and other indie designers...
they have things in place (vogue/cfda fund, to name one) to help designers make it to the next level, as well as promotion in their own pages...
they could do the same thing with models...
look how they picked the girls that were on the may cover...
there was much debate as to who the next supermodel(s) are, and many thought vogue picked girls who were already past their moment...
it would have been a perfect opportunity for them to select other minorities...

eternitygoddess, what is so out of place about a model of any race wearing dior couture?
if you can afford to buy it, then you can be photographed in it...
spending power among minorities has tripled in recent years, and the pages of vogue do not reflect that...
and even though there are international editions of the mag, it's still the american version that's considered to be the leader...

 

[Yanka]

that's a fantastic point that people have failed to see. Fashion magazines, designers, etc are the ones who tell us what is in fashion, what to wear, what to look like. so i don't understand when people say "Vogue is just catering to what is in style" or whatever....yet they are the ones who have the power to change the standard. like someone said earlier in this thread, everyone has been taught to think that beauty is white. i mean there have been progress and you do see more diversity, but sometimes magazines just try to stay with the norm. so i agree that it's time for a change, and wouldn't that help magazines sell more because you are catering to a larger audience.



yes you are right in saying that most who can afford these designers are prominent and well off white people. but i think Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, etc are more concerned with selling their magazines. and you can't say that a black, asian, hispanic, etc can't afford a magazine because they surely can afford them.
and i'm not trying to attack you at all, but just because YOU do not see black people everyday and YOU can't relate to a model of colour, doesn't mean that we shouldn't have them on covers. because your hometown/city/area doesn't have a large ethnic population doesn't mean that the rest of the world isn't diverse. there are over 6 billion people in the world, and if you compare the number of people w/ European ethnicity to the rest of the world's ethnic races, they are the minority.

No, magazines don't make ANY money selling copies. High-end magazines like Vogue, W cost more than their cover price. Their income comes solely from advertising. Advertising dictates the direction the magazine is taking. If, for example, I am Armani and I know that, say, 90% of my costumers hail from "A" socio-economic group (highly educated, high disposable income) and, say, 80% of them are of white descent, I am not going to advertise in a magazine orientated for black people. And if Vogue wants to get Armani ads., it's going to have to work with their marketing, thus trying to appeal to white, WASP, whatever.
Only when a lot more of mega brands costumers will be black, are we gonna see more black models on the covers & editorials. There is nothing else to it.
And yes, my country has virtually no black population. We do have a lot of asians though, but most of them are poor migrant workers. They can't afford fashion. Fashion magazines are not trying to appeal to them.

 

[carioca]

No, magazines don't make ANY money selling copies. High-end magazines like Vogue, W cost more than their cover price. Their income comes solely from advertising. Advertising dictates the direction the magazine is taking. If, for example, I am Armani and I know that, say, 90% of my costumers hail from "A" socio-economic group (highly educated, high disposable income) and, say, 80% of them are of white descent, I am not going to advertise in a magazine orientated for black people. And if Vogue wants to get Armani ads., it's going to have to work with their marketing, thus trying to appeal to white, WASP, whatever.
Only when a lot more of mega brands costumers will be black, are we gonna see more black models on the covers & editorials. There is nothing else to it.
And yes, my country has virtually no black population. We do have a lot of asians though, but most of them are poor migrant workers. They can't afford fashion. Fashion magazines are not trying to appeal to them.

yes i did say i agree that White people are the ones who can mostly afford what is being advertised in the magazine. but my point was that having a model of colour on the cover of a magazine wouldn't do them any harm, in fact it seems like it would be more beneficial. you get a bigger global audience, and if i was an advertiser, i'd want my product to be seen by everyone, regardless if they can buy it or not. it's the HYPE the EXPOSURE the AWARENESS of your product that will make the people who CAN afford it, want to buy it. do you think rich people would buy clothing from an unheard of designer...NO. so if more people pick up your magazine, a designer would want their advertisements to be featured in that magazine because they know that a lot of people will see their ads. they know they still need to advertise, and plus they have virtually no decision in choosing who goes on the cover of the magazine, it's the magazine itself who chooses what goes on it. advertisers for designers don't give a hoot who's on the cover and i highly doubt that they will compromise global exposure just because they don't want a black model, asian model, etc on the cover.

just because you feature a model of colour on the front of a magazine doesn't automatically mean that you are aiming at one audience, if anything it's a larger audience. i get your point about white people being more affluent, i'm not arguing that. i'm arguing that the audience should be broader since the times are changing and the magazine/fashion industry that are so good at making a change should change along with the world.

 

[Joseph26]

maybe she's just mad because linda had that us vogue cover last year... <G>

yeah but there are like 1 million of light years between Linda and Naomi, Linda is the ultimate High Fashion icon, she could have a Vogue cover every year.

Naomi? well, spechless

 

[Joseph26]

“I even get a raw deal from my own country. For example, I hardly come on the front pages of London’s Vogue magazine.

"Only white models, some of whom are not as prominent as I am, are put on the front pages”.

god, how self centered she is, soo full of herself

“I don’t want to quit modelling until I find that black models get equal prominence and recognition by the world media and information instruments” she added.

then she's going to be around forever catwalking for Heatherette and Rosa Cha.