Racial Diversity In Modeling

[Nemova]

^Ah, ok. Sorry.

 

[kimair]

I'm not talking about DVF as a designer, but as president of CFDA, where she has significant influence over both American designers, and on her peer(s) in other fashion capitols as well ...

i agree ta-ta...
dvf is always one of the most racially diverse runways during nyfw...

as president of the cfda, she can most definitely start the discussion and get other designers on board with being more diverse...
she did the same with the eating disorder issue, and this is something that affects the industry just as much...

 

[writergal28]

Recent post from my blog regarding ethnicity:

Recently, there have been tons of articles about the lack of diversity in the fashion industry, including one from the New York Times, dated Sunday, October 14. The article, called Ignoring Diversity, Runways Fade to White, discusses the lack of non-white models on the runways (what I found very interesting is that they spend two paragraphs discussing diversity/non-whites in general, and then spend the rest of the article on the lack of black models when there is a lack of non-white models, period, not just black, but anyway...), especially on the runways in Europe. There have been many discussions as to why, ranging from the middle America thinking that a certain product is "ethnic" when a non-white person (who isn't a celebrity...Oprah, Lucy Liu, Sandra Oh, JLo and Queen Latifah are fine, because, well, they're famous. Zhang Ziyi is fine too, but she's pretty much regulated to magazines like Town and Country (a lifestyle publication with a very upper-crust, old money reputation, an image they're trying to get rid of.), because Middle America doesn't really watch foreign films (another reason for not using Ziyi: For some reason, it's difficult to make her look "urban" which mainstream mags like to do with non-whites. Interesting, considering Ziyi's Britney/Lindsay rep in Asia. I guess people in the west don't know too much about it, unless one follows the gossip rags from Asia.) Makes you wonder if the media are trying to dumb people down, huh? Chicken and egg situation here, I guess.) to going on and on about non-whites not being major spenders in the luxury market (whoever said this has never been to Hong Kong, Shanghai or Tokyo!) to non-whites not having the "right shape" in the eyes of the designer. You know the spiel. Most Asians are too height-challenged and too short-legged, even if the right height. Blacks and Hispanics are too "curvy."

Not having the right shape. Who really dictates that? I'm pretty sure it's the designers, the same people who dictate that they use very young, tall, skinny blondes. Not the public (who don't all want tall, skinny blondes who are still high school aged), and not really the media (they only respond to what the designers want. Ads don't always use the skinny girls and often opt for a diverse selection of celebrities instead.) But wait. Aren't designers supposed to be creative? Aren't they supposed to think outside of the box? I guess not. Otherwise, they'd be able to make clothes look great on a variety of shapes. As regular readers of this blog know, I participate in discussions on fashion-related message boards and groups on social networking sites. I've brought up the issue of non-standard sized designers and models, but time and time again, those who follow the "old guard" tell me "models have to be young, tall and thin." (hey, you left out white and BLONDE!) I've even written, in BLOCK LETTERS that there are people who specialize in petite, plus and petite-plus clothes, but these posters don't seem to understand, and repeat over and over, "models have to be tall and thin." No, people, models have to be tall and thin because we're LED TO BELIEVE THIS. Of course, media are partly to blame too. They're the ones not promoting designers who specialize, unless the particular designer is a celebrity. Even then, these "specialized" brands skew urban (pretty much the only time one sees non-white models is with these celeb-"designed" lines.) It seems like the media don't want to give these designers a chance because it's not what's generally accepted, in addition to the designers not having the cash to buy promo spaces. Even if big media companies offered prize money for newbies, there's little chance petite-only brands would win (in the eyes of the media, "specialty" means plus) even though we make up a very sizable minority (43%!) unless change is made NOW.

I'd like to think we're not as dumb as the media want us to be. I'd like to think that we're open to seeing non-foreign celeb minorities pictured as non-urban (Since when were Asian (specifically Hong Kong Chinese) Canadians "urban"? Suburban, yes, but URBAN? Yeah, if you want to get in trouble with the parents!) I'd like to see (non-foreign) minority woman looking Grace Kelly-esque and not have people criticize it as being "not believable." I'd like to believe that it's okay to put a non-celeb short and/or larger model on a mainstream cover, especially if the clothes she's wearing is from a non-standard sized designer and still have the publication be successful. But maybe it's not the world that is stupid. Maybe I'm the one who is.

I found it interesting that most media reports about the lack of non-white models focus on black women, even if the title of the article seem be about all minorities.

 

[fashionista-ta]

^ You know, it just occurred to me that Miuccia (widely agreed to have started the current taste for attenuated, robotic Eastern European blondes) is herself pretty far from this "ideal." Not trying to be inflammatory, but I then immediately thought of Adolf H.--a huge fan of the blue-eyed blonde ideal, and himself quite far from it. Perhaps we need higher self-esteem among designers

 

[Guessgirl96]

I read a couple posts blaming anna wintour for this lack of diversity.... I'm not a particular fan of her, but I dont think it's her fault or any of the editors. I'm sure they publish what people buy, it would make sense that they repeat the same stuff that people buy most .

 

[uglymodelwench69]

i love me some anna wintour

 

[fashionista-ta]

I read a couple posts blaming anna wintour for this lack of diversity.... I'm not a particular fan of her, but I dont think it's her fault or any of the editors. I'm sure they publish what people buy, it would make sense that they repeat the same stuff that people buy most .

It does make sense ... we're not saying why oh why is this happening ... it's just not particularly admirable, and it's not moving us forward. It's purely commercial, rather than reflecting a range of values, and it demonstrates no leadership whatsoever. The fashion and art communities are known as avant garde rather than bourgeois ... whether that reputation is deserved is another question

 

[Guessgirl96]

You bring a good point about leadership. Just about anything in Vogue could easily be popular if they want to but it's easier to just let it be.

 

[kimair]

You bring a good point about leadership. Just about anything in Vogue could easily be popular if they want to but it's easier to just let it be.

exactly...

all of the other vogue editions seem to have alot of diversity except the main one...
teen vogue, mens vogue and vogue living all have had cover subjects of different ages, race, etc...
why not "the bible?"

 

[fashionista-ta]

^ Fear would be my guess ... protecting the cash cow ... but has diversity hurt any of the "baby" Vogues you mention?

 

[J'ador-DioR]

This is certainly not related to Vogue but there has been a little mention of a huge cosmetics brand (Estee Lauder) who are allegedly dropping one of the few black models who has managed to get a cosmetics contract for the last decade or so.

Rhoda, a 20-year-old from Chevy Chase, Md., joins a long line of faces who became ubiquitous on billboards, commercials and beauty counters the world over, thanks to the cosmetic giant. Karen Graham was its first contract model, and she lasted 15 years (this before retouching). In the 1990s, the brand made Paulina Porizkova one of the most famous faces on the planet. It also launched the modeling career of Elizabeth Hurley, who, at the time, was known primarily for being Hugh Grant's girlfriend. Next came supermodels Carolyn Murphy and Liya Kebede (who is being phased out this year).

http://www.abcnews.go.com/Business/IndustryInfo/Story?id=3678040&page=3

 

[kimair]

wow...i can't believe estee lauder is going to phase out liya...
wonder if they are looking at replacing her with another minority...

ta-ta...i don't think the diversity has hurt any of the other vogues at all...
in fact, condé nast recently announced it was increasing the number of issues for vogue living, and men's vogue upped its number of issues a few months ago...

 

[misssakura]

I was just wondering....say the number of magazines targeted specifically at certain minorities increased, and it became the norm that certain magazines were only for certain minorities..

And then say, Vogue decided to do a minority heavy issue, would that put people off because they'd associate the magazine being specifically for a minority?

I suppose in a way that's already what has happened with Vogue, just in reverse.

 

[writergal28]

Ads seem to be more minority-friendly than editorials.

 

[fashionista-ta]

Ads seem to be more minority-friendly than editorials.

... when it "should" be the reverse as one would think ads are solely motivated by the bottom line ... and that's the argument we keep hearing for the "white-washed" covers ...

 

[Guessgirl96]

... when it "should" be the reverse as one would think ads are solely motivated by the bottom line ... and that's the argument we keep hearing for the "white-washed" covers ...

Isnt it true that the bottom line whats important for most magazines? Or are you saying that it shouldnt be that way so it's not a good excuse?

 

[fashionista-ta]

^ I'm saying that ads are clearly meant to improve the bottom line of the company doing the advertising.

If ads are more diverse than eds, the indication is that there's a reason other than the bottom line for the lack of editorial diversity.

 

[sepia]

I don't think ads are more diverse than eds. Perhaps for mainstream commercial brands and stores, but the high-fashion brands rarely feature black women. In the campaign forum, each season, there are only a handful of black models in any of the campaigns.

 

[fashionista-ta]

Nordstrom's current direct mail/windows/etc. feature a Ruben Toledo silhouette of a black woman.

 

[ChristionCouture]

Nordstrom's current direct mail/windows/etc. feature a Ruben Toledo silhouette of a black woman.

LOL

I guess black women only deserve to be in the shadows.