Racism In The Fashion Industry
"We know what
you’re asking: The fashion industry is racist? No way! Fully 20% of
the models at New York Fashion Week are people of color, and since
20% of the world’s population is people of color, and… Wait,
what’s that you say? The world isn’t 80% white? Don’t you watch
television?".
This is the
foreword of an article written back in September 2012 regarding racism in the fashion industry through the years. Their conclusion is somewhat shivering, most of
their examples are of "recent vintage".
That's right:
after the highlights of the 80's and 90's, where there was a good
representation of black people on the catwalks and the magazines, it
has fallen all the way back down again.
Nowadays, the "right" black model is a "white girl dipped in chocolate",
this is a true statement made by an insider of the industry while
filming the documentary "The colour of Beauty". This documentary
is a part of a larger Canadian Government Project, trying to reveal
the challenges minorities face on a daily base.
They
revealed that there is
systematic racism in the modeling industry – and it’s not going
away anytime soon. The
industry does not reflect the diversity of real life. We live in a
world that is so diverse and where visible minorities are
actually the visible majority.
Vogue
magazine was started in 1892. In over 118 years and 1,416 covers,
only 14 have featured minorities of any kind. That's less than 1%.
Carole
White, co-founder of Premier Model Management, which supplies models
to top fashion brands, admitted that finding work for black clients
was significantly harder than for the white models. Because both
magazines and fashion designers were reluctant to employ them. "We
have had casting briefs which say 'no ethnics'. But we are better in
London than Paris and Milan; there if you offer a black girl they
will drop the book like it's hot".
Nick
Knight, a photographer who is known for his shoots featuring
unconventional models, said the lack of black girls was "a
pitiful reflection on the industry. But it's not just fashion, I work
in film and advertising and it's the same level of racism. And I do
think that if we don't use a model because of her skin colour then it
is racism".
 |
| Nick Knight: "Fashion is often seen as frivolous, but this is not a trivial issue. It is my belief that our society must be inclusive and by denying people the right to be seen as beautiful you cause deep cultural resentment, alienation and division". |
The industry
self points the finger back to us. According to the magazines, black
models don't sell.
We
are the ones who are demanding and it's a fact that
the faces that sell us products are predominantly white. "Sadly we
are in the business where you stock your shelves with what sells." So
it is not their fault that minorities are not prominent on the cover
or the catwalks, it's ours.
Fashion
is probably the only industry that can discriminate on, not only skin
colour, but in fact on everything. They
are often the cause of problems. Hereby also talking about how thick, or better said thin a model has to be. We try to equelize those
pictures. Minorities often have no resemblance than white models,
which can give them a low self esteem about being different than the
average white model.
By
casually throwing a limited handful of minorities with “big names”,
they cover the racism. We are not racist, look we have Naomi
Campbell. She is black, she is on the catwalk, but she's the only
minority there.
These
minorities with “big names”, happen to have more diversity in
them than all of the white models during Fashion Week. For instance
you can't say that Chanel Iman, Naomi Campbell and Tyra Banks leave
the same impression behind.
The
individuals in the industry are not necessarily racist, but work in a
system that is. They can make decisions that contribute to systemic
racism. They are responsible for almost everything we see and relate
to. We
have a very narrow definition of beauty, which is mostly created by
them. They try to make an illusion based on their creative insides
and of course on their consuming market. They are
responsible for painting a global picture of all aspects of society.
I believe that there definitely need to be some changes made. What do
you think?
Love,
Dominique
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