happy black history month

>> Jourdan Dunn walked the Prada catwalk earlier today.  The last photographic evidence I can find online of a woman of color walking in a Prada show is over ten years ago: Naomi Campbell in the Fall 1997 season.  Wow, it's been a while.

Naomi was in the Prada print ads along with Christy Turlington back in 1994 . . . maybe it's time for Sasha to have a new partner?

*image: vogue.it

Comments

[angela]

yes because she's stunning.

[matt]

I was wondering how long it had been since a black model walked for Prada, I guess it has been a while! Yaaay Jourdan!

[astralgirl01]

Prada has been feeling the heat, as it was highlighted during Bethann Hardison's recent summits about the state of Black models in the industry.

Ms. Prada's ads had, until recently, set the tone for the "look" of the industry, but I am glad to see that other notable designers have stepped forward and decided to feature GLOBAL beauty.

For shame, Prada... I've actually been boycotting buying Prada and Miu Miu until they featured some women/models of color. One seems to be a sad gesture, so I will keep spending my money elsewhere until Ms. Prada decides to feature a model of color (Asian, Hispanic, Black, or otherwise) in a major ad campaign.

[stacy]

I had no idea it had been that long.

[Whiskas]

Angela: So there have been no "stunning" black models in over 10 years?

[Feodor]

@astralgirl01 writes:
"...so I will keep spending my money elsewhere until Ms. Prada decides to feature a model of color... "

Seems rather judgmental if not downright racist?

[TiM]

naomi looks gorgeous!!!!

[Comme]

But is she black enough? That's the question.

[Guerreira]

I saw this amazing Avsh Alom Gur show at London Fashion Week where all the models were black. Such a refreshing change. But, for some reason, I didn't see any mention of it in any of the many articles about how "white" the London catwalks were.

[Ms. Fab]

@Feodor: Get off it. Where you spend your dollars is a reflection of your values. And since Ms. Prada has consistently displayed a lack of interest in featuring black models, there's nothing wrong with an enlightened consumer deciding that she wants to spend her money somewhere diversity is appreciated.

[TiM]

OK! has anyone ever freakin thought that maybe most coloured models just dont have the right look??
(dont focus too much on that statment)
what im saying is, i really dont think that these designers or casting directors are being racist or biased in anyway! i think it's just coincidence. maybe most of the "white" models just have the right look that they want and so most of the models chosen are "white". but what is white anyways? its unfair that these albanians, serbians, ukranians, russians, americans, canadians, brazillians, british, south africans, australians, and spanish models are grouped as all just "white". they all come from different places, multi-cultural places. why must the focus be on the colour of their skin. and plus, there are planty of coloured models out there! chanel iman, mimi roche, sonja wanda, yasmin warsame, and kinee douf. so there!

[metk]

To TiM & anyone finding themselves nodding their heads:

You cannot say something potentially offensive and tell someone "not to focus" on that sort of statement. It's like saying "no offense, but..." It's poor logic and I am choosing to pay attention to it.

We must ask why "coloured" models do not have what is considered to be the right look. Why are racialized women not viewed by one of the most powerful industries in the world as worthy enough to represent them? I am supposed to believe that it is merely coincidence that out of all the countries represented, including South Africa and Brazil, that the models selected are the ones with the lightest skin? yes,

And yes, we could argue that race is a social construction, and I would agree with that, but it is a construction that finds actual consquences in a globalized society. Selecting one skin colour over many others as a universal standard of beauty is one of those consequences. And it must be noted that just as race is a social construction, so is beauty. "The right look" is not natural or inherent. It is constructed, and it is constructed so that predominantly white women fit that role. Yes, you can list off a couple women of colour as a few tokenistic examples, but diversity is not in the fashion industry. I won't even call it diversity- I would say that the recognition of racialized women does not exist in the fashion industry.

[Ms. Fab]

@metk: Beautiful response.

@TiM: Don't ever, EVER, use the word "coloured" again.

[frack]

I don't get why most people care too much about this issue. Yes, there is a shortage of black models walking the runways but ultimately it's the designer's decision to choose models who they feel portray the right look for the brand. I feel that it's unfair that designers should be forced to cast models that they do not really want in their show because of public pressure much like the summits held by Bethann Hardison.

Why is there no outrage over the shortage of asian models on the runways? The ratio between top black models and top asian are about equal. But because Hye Park gets cast to walk Prada, there's no problem?

[lee]

@frack: Your two paragraphs contradict each other. First you mention that you think it unfair for designers to be 'forced' to integrate black models on their runways. Then in the next paragraph, you suggest that there should be more outrage over the shortage of Asian models on the runways...

Basically, I think metk covered it all. The issue isn't about one specific race; of course we don't see much of Asian models, either. The issue isn't solely about black models, and it isn't about designers feeling forced to integrate diversity into their choices of models in order to be morally accepted. It's about the standards of beauty that have been constructed and maintained throughout the fashion industry, which is really the root of the problem -- the "look" that we have been told is the one to strive for.

[TiM]

o geez, what did i get myself into? sorry if i offended anyone first of all...
@metk: good response, i give you that, but beautiful? not really.
"Why are racialized women not viewed by one of the most powerful industries in the world" - that sounded a bit ridiculous dont you think? not everyone follows fashion the way we fashionologie fans do, and therefore not everyone agrees with the "ideal beauty" that the fashion industry portrays. and frack, i get what ur saying, and lee im sorry that you dont. everyone seems to be making such a big deal out of this. who says that the fashion industry is in control of how the world views "beauty". as i said before, NOT EVERYONE FOLLOWS FASHION! so not everyone is even aware of this shortage of coloured models. you forget, the fashion industry is shallow, you must have good complexion, you must be tall, and you must be skinny. people should be glad that "you must be white" isnt in there.
"I won't even call it diversity" - that was very dramatic. there are plenty of coloured models, but i wouldn't want to name names, they might be "tokenistic" - whatever that was supposed to mean.
@Ms. Fab: so i used the word "coloured" what are you gonna do about it?

[stylebyme.net]

I can't believe it was that long ago a colored woman was on the catwalk. I hope we'll see more black woman on the catwalk, and that soon.

[anon]

One model is progress, but shame on Prada!

what is the name of that almost bald black model? gosh, i think she's gorgeous!

[hhm]

actually miiucia used asians for her last alst miumiu campaign =)

[frack]

My comment wasn't meant to suggest anything about asian vs. black models. What I was saying is that most people tend to focus on the lack of black models when discussing diversity within the fashion world when there is an obvious absence of other ethnicities. I am personally not very passionate or emotionally invested when it comes to this topic and don't feel that it's a very big problem.

Others have already stated that it's not about race -
"It's about the standards of beauty that have been constructed and maintained throughout the fashion industry, which is really the root of the problem."

But then again, this is the fashion industry that we're talking about. I'm pretty sure most of us have come to accept that while it would be nice to see some changes made, there's a slim chance of that happening in the near future.

[metk]

to TiM

not everyone follows fashion, yes, but billboards and advertisements are pretty fucking hard to get away from. try it sometime. maybe then you'll get far away enough from the internet that i don't have to read your totally ignorant posts. ms. fab probably isn't going to do anything about it, nor should she have to. you should just try to recognize that the language you use determines how you view others or 'others.' language is powerful.

and no, i don't think it was a bit ridiculous. beauty is constructed, and beauty and its representations do not exist solely within an elitist industry but are everywhere.

[TiM]

to metk

chill, okay.

[TiM]

continued.....
it sounds like you actually compare yourself to those shallow advertisements, and to that i think, how very sad.