Photo Credit: Glamour UK, photographed by Pawel Psyz
About five months ago, designer Zac Posen broke his silence on one of the most controversial matters in the fashion industry-- diversity. Not only did Posen share an encouraging post on Instagram, but his Fall Ready-to-Wear 2016 collection consisted of many models of color including Aya Jones, Grace Bol, Cindy Bruna, and Riley Montana.
Anyone unaware of what goes on in the fashion world may be a little confused by this issue. Diversity and the representation of people of color in the fashion industry has been a very long, tedious struggle. If we were to watch any major fashion show in the 90s, we would notice all the models would be white except for perhaps one (i.e. Naomi Campbell). Today, progress is readily apparent but still is nowhere near where it should be, as around 80% of models casted at New York, London, Milan, and Paris Fashion Weeks were white (see chart below).
Photo courtesy of The Fashion Spot
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Maria Borges: This Angolan beauty requested not to have to wear a weave for last year's Victoria's Secret Show. She says she felt nervous and apprehensive as she was forced to wear extensions at previous VS Shows, but she got the approval. She related the excitement to her fans in a tweet shortly after the good news: "Are you ready for the 2015 @VictoriasSecret fashion show?! I'll be rocking my Afro hair this year for THE show!” She later advised girls nervous about their natural hair to be strong and believe in their beauty.
Photo Credit: Ape Production
Liu Wen: Of course, we could not neglect China's first supermodel, who also happens to be the first Asian model to walk for Victoria's Secret and has many other firsts to her name. We think Liu's quote to NY Mag pretty much sums it up: "People probably think I'm cute because I have dimples and am friendly and always smiling. But beauty is different. In Chinese, people say I have 'chi ze', which means aura or a strong sense of presentation. It's not about my look. It's about confidence. I think this is what people see."
Photo Credit: Glamour UK, photographed by Pawel Psyz
Neelam Gill: Neelam proves to us once again that being beautiful doesn't have to correspond with being white. She told Teen Vogue that "Fashion reaches all different ethnicities, and the market is so wide now that customers truly aren't going to be just one skin tone." She is the first Indian model to ever be used in a Burberry Beauty campaign.In the end, we couldn't agree with Zac Posen more. Diversity truly makes the world beautiful and inspiring for all of us.
No comments:
Post a Comment