Powerful film. Although ultimately I think continued growth in emerging markets will bring lasting racial diversity to fashion runways/advertising, not a change in morality.

By Vikram Kansara at 03:36 Mon 28 Jul 2008 | reply to this >

It was in the NY times where they did a special report on the Italian Vogue special issue using only African models for the editorials. The effort was appreciated, but, to do just one special feature, in a way has not addressed the condition of unequal opportunities in the fashion/modeling business; it has merely done a token gesture, because if fashion magazines don't start to use black models on more regular basis, in every issue, nothing in essence would ever change, and this issue concerns middle Eastern and Asian models as well.

By KaWai at 06:19 Mon 28 Jul 2008 | reply to this >

It truly is incredibly homogeneous.

Like a lot of fields, giving people something different that they'd probably actually really want loses to timid and blind over-reliance on marketing research. It can even be self-defeating.

With fashion imagery it's:
Take the majority demographic of your target market, reflect their aspirational self (richer, thinner, prettier) and repeat ad nauseam.

The weird aspect of this is if everyone follows the same formula forever, then all it takes is someone to NOT do it and your brand is almost effortlessly differentiated. So what prevents them from doing it? Fear? Narrow-mindedness? Having your job on the line? I don't know. (Don't want to seem nonchalant or heartless about something I'm sure cuts people very deep, but I don't think it's racism. Not *true* racism anyway. I'm an 'outsider' so I concede I may not know what I'm talking about.)

American Apparel uses a broader range of ethnicity and sizes, and I highly doubt they do it out of altruism or political correctness. Why are they the only ones? The company seems to be growing quickly so it can't be working against them. What do they know that the others don't? Is it a younger market, with a different mindset? Did they just decide to do it their way, knowing that having a fresh and different image would work? Does their target market aspire to be urban hipsters rather then the usual aspirational stuff?

By Landon at 06:39 Mon 28 Jul 2008 | reply to this >

I'm not sure if using a 'black' model to glamourise and trivialise the use of guns (and showing a tank's gun as a huge cock) is the best way to tackle racism in fashion.
Nick, have you really tried to analyse what is going on in fashion with this issue?
You could go on strike and refuse to do a job if they don't let you use a black model.

By Karl Fuler at 10:12 Mon 28 Jul 2008 | reply to this >

Food for thought ! although I'm not quite sure that the imagery can make people in the industry or anybody else for that matter reflect about the issue in question and make a turn for the better in the name of tolerance, civility and understanding for our fellow man ????

By Galileo's Universe at 12:24 Mon 28 Jul 2008 | reply to this >

YSL and Issey Miyaki used many black models on their runways.

By KaWai at 17:02 Mon 28 Jul 2008 | reply to this >

The only way to change people's mentality and break the existing racial condition is to start using black models and Asian models as regularly as using white models, I think in the US, Revlon is addressing that issue by signing on Halle Berry, Iman with her own cosmetic line is doing her part of breaking this unfair practice in fashion and modeling industry.

By KaWai at 17:06 Mon 28 Jul 2008 | reply to this >

Pat Cleveland shot by Antonio Lopez

By KaWai at 17:07 Mon 28 Jul 2008 | reply to this >

The fundamental problem-to present white as global standard of beauty, wealth, elegance, glamor, and to stereotype. That's why YSL what he did of bringing black models to the catwalk in the 70's was such an endearing and groundbreaking thing, even though he probably didn't think what he did was something tremendous, but because he had never type cast them, he opened up tons of opportunities for black and other ethnic models.

By KaWai at 17:18 Mon 28 Jul 2008 | reply to this >

Grace Jones

By KaWai at 17:19 Mon 28 Jul 2008 | reply to this >

In the 70's, fashion really became democratic, with the arrival of pret-a-porter, and women's movement. We started to see lots more Asian models and black models in advertising and runways. High fashion Designers were not part of the corperate world yet, they were quite independent to do their ways of marketing and advertising.

By KaWai at 17:24 Mon 28 Jul 2008 | reply to this >

Perhaps with Barack Obama and Michelle so much in the spot light now things would change in fashion.

By KaWai at 17:27 Mon 28 Jul 2008 | reply to this >

Made me realise I can not think of one perfume advert that has a black model in it.
Outrageous!

By la at 20:32 Mon 28 Jul 2008 | reply to this >

OMG this was a beautiful movie it really made me think i tried to do a movie on the subject but my movie didn't work on showstudio because the movie was the file type

all thumbs up 2 nick & everyone at showstudio

By --1cal1-- at 20:48 Mon 28 Jul 2008 | reply to this >

Ya got balls Nick Knight! And what's better is ya know how to use them..

By theoriginalwheelstv at 03:29 Tue 29 Jul 2008 | reply to this >

The mainstream certainly would have the most influence.....
British Vogue hasnt even featured a black model on the cover since 2002 and that Aug 2002 issue featured Naomi Campbell- she had attacked British Vogue for being extremely racist and sidelining black models.

There was the recent incident of Naomi being fined for the British Airways attack when she accused them of being racist...

The sad thing about racism in fashion specifically is that the implication is that brands, magazines etc do not see black models as beautiful and are not as appreciative of black beauty as they are of other forms of beauty or things that they are so willing to put in their ads/magazines/strategies

By maria n at 13:18 Tue 29 Jul 2008 | reply to this >

French Marie Claire have only ever had one black model (they dont use celebrities for covers only models) on their cover in the history of the magazine and that was also Naomi. They claimed that sales for that issue were 30% below average. If that statistic is true then it just shows how real racism is as people will not buy a magazine because a black model is on the cover.

By maria n at 13:24 Tue 29 Jul 2008 | reply to this >

Thank you Galileo's Universe for bringing the brazilian models issue. I'm brazilian and used to work as a stylist assistant in São Paulo, and I can tell you that the so called brazilian beauty that you see in fashion is not very accurate. The majority of the models are from the south of the country, where there's a lot of german communities, that explains Gisele and Raquel Zimmermann's type. But this represents only a very small percentage of the population. In fact, I think the south of Brazil is not mixed at all! So I really never understood when people in fashion started talking about the brazilian type/beauty, referring to Gisele, etc. For me Caroline Ribeiro and Adriana Lima are two true examples of multi ethnic population from Brazil. And I still think it's really sad not to have diversity. As a consumer, I can't relate to a brand that only uses a beauty type that is very far from my own.

By GKalil at 00:12 Thu 31 Jul 2008 | reply to this >

and Adriana Lima as well !! ......

By Galileo's Universe at 03:46 Thu 31 Jul 2008 | reply to this >

go to this link to see the piece on this film from nymagazine

nymag.com/daily/fashion/2008/07/naomi_campbell_stars_in_nick_k.html?mid=fashion-alert--20080729

By maria n at 10:30 Thu 31 Jul 2008 | reply to this >

Three Miss Venezuela

This is getting rather interesting ... the theme that started with the aim to point out that black models are not being represented more forcefully in the fashion industry seems to be uncovering a world wide ' malaise' where demographics don't seem to make any sense when it comes to be fairly represented in the beauty industry ...

By Galileo's Universe at 12:44 Thu 31 Jul 2008 | reply to this >

Miss world for The Netherlands 2006 Sheryl Lynn

By Galileo's Universe at 13:53 Thu 31 Jul 2008 | reply to this >

I agree with Nick NIGHT
but i think that is another form of racism to use Noemie ,too easy!
Instead WITH HIS POWER IN THE BUSINESS why did not use or give a chance to another black models .

By askalabula at 02:11 Fri 01 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

Naomi has brought the issue in the past .... a pity that because of her ' excentric ' temper it does seem to undermine the seriousness of her message .... somehow !
What I indeed find interesting is her idea of starting her own model agency in Kenya , therefore doing something about it herself .... that is a very positive action and that is surely bound to have more direct effect giving her powerful position when it comes to having total media attention ... super !

Naomi has brought the issue in the past .... a pity that because of her ' excentric ' sagas it does seem to undermine the seriousness of her message .... somehow !
What I indeed find interesting is her idea of starting her own model agency in Kenia , therefore doing something about it herself .... that is a very positive action and that is surely bound to have more direct effect giving her powerful position when it comes to having total media attention ... super !

Life & style
Fashion
Naomi Campbell fights racism in fashion
Hannah Pool
The Guardian, Wednesday August 22 2007
Article history
"Black models are being sidelined by major modelling agencies," Naomi Campbell told Kenyan journalists earlier this week. "It's a pity that people don't appreciate black beauty." Campbell, who also complained that she is rarely featured on the cover of British Vogue, is now thinking of opening her own modelling agency in Kenya in an attempt to redress the balance.

She is, of course, not saying anything new. "Racism in fashion industry" is about as surprising a headline as "Pete Doherty arrested". But while she has never been the most likable supermodel around, Campbell is to be congratulated for the fact that throughout her career she has never shied away from talking about the issue.

"There is prejudice. It is a problem and I can't go along any more with brushing it under the carpet," said Streatham's most famous export as far back as 1997. "This business is about selling, and blonde and blue-eyed girls are what sells." Saying this sort of stuff takes guts, no matter who you are; Campbell is not so much biting the hand that feeds as ripping it off at the wrist.

For the record, Campbell has appeared on a total of eight Vogue covers, which is approximately eight more than most of us, but notably less than Kate Moss (a whopping 24). Moss-mania aside, a more realistic comparison might be with Linda Evangelista or Gisele Bündchen (13 and 12 covers respectively) - and while, in Vogue cover terms, she is roughly in the same ball park, it is unlikely that Bündchen or Evangelista has ever been turned down for a job because the designer didn't want a white model.

Of course, Vogue is not the only barometer of the fashion industry's treatment of black women, and Campbell is not the only black model to have faced racism.

It may seem as though things have moved on considerably since the 70s when Iman, the first black supermodel, was pitched as an illiterate Somali goatherd (she was in fact a middle-class multilingual university student), but the fact is that you can still count the number of prominent black models on one hand. While publishers remain convinced that white women won't buy a magazine with a black woman on the cover, it is going to take more than a model with a reputation for having a bit of a temper to change their minds.

By Galileo's Universe at 16:36 Fri 01 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

I have just been shown the September copy of Vogue. I counted through roughly 300 pages of advertising and found 3 ads with black models in them, and in two of them they were sharing the ad with white models.
So there is in fact was the grand total of 1 ad in the whole of the new seasons advertising that chose just to use a black model.
I read Sarah Mowers article in the paper at the weekend proclaiming the Italian Vogue issue to be a "watershed" moment . Well no evidence of that in this seasons advertising.
Incidentally I also went through all the editorial stories and found no black models used.

By saint at 18:06 Fri 01 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

There's a lot of blame to go around:

1. Blame the Editors. On the subject of magazines not putting non-white models on the cover because they claim it leads to fewer sales. Okay, let's pretend that's a legitimate reason. Now, what prevents them from using none-white models INSIDE the magazine? Every month, all the Vogues, Ws, Elles and even the non-commercial fashion magazines have four or more editorial stories inside each magazine. What percentage of the editorials feature non-white models? Month after month, only white models are used both on the cover and inside the magazine. The dearth of non-white models inside magazines proves that money isn't the issue.

2. Blame the designers: Designers want to please editors. If it's a whites-only policy, that's who they'll book for their shows and campaigns. For all the their vaunted rebellious attitudes and "creativity," designers are conformists. If Prada and Raf Simons have all-white cabines, they will too. Editors love Prada and Raf Simons. If a less successful designer copies who they book, maybe some of their coolness factor will rub off on them. It's New York designers who are the worst. They live and work in a city that is 50% non-white, and they're always claiming to be inspired by the city, but you'd never know it from who they book.

3. Blame non-white designers for not supporting their own. This is a tricky issue. Think of the MANY New York designers who are of Asian origin. How many Asian models do they use? Very few. One or two a show. Some of this is from fear of being seen as an Asian label. Of course, no one worries about an only-white cast leading to a perception that it's a white label.

If non-white designers don't pave they way by using more non-white models, who will? Yves is dead. Tom Ford isn't a big label (yet--btw the man is a champ on this issue, a real iconoclast--from his championing of Kiara to Liya and now the White Patchouli campaign--and how sad is it that using black models makes one an iconoclast in 2008?) Prada and Raf Simons and Karl who lately gets his cues from Hedi are resolute in their preference for all white models.

A couple of years ago, Francisco Costa, the creative director of Calvin Klein (who is of Brazilian origin), had a show where the house put out a press release that one of the central themes of the collection was "purity." How did this translate into which models were booked? They ONLY booked white models with blonde hair! I'm not kidding. And he's considered one of the more cerebral designers. Honestly, if someone Brazilian doesn't realize what message you are sending when you equate "purity" with white blondes, there doesn't appear to be a lot of hope. (I recall the wonderful Cathy Horyn calling him on that.)

4. Don't blame all advertisers. The high fashion ads are only a portion of what makes a magazine. In the U.S., mainstream advertisers have long embraced using black models. The reason? It makes financial sense for them to do so. Cover Girl, L'Oreal, Revlon and lots of other companies regularly use non-white models and spokesmodels, and they have for years. Can you imagine a typical editor having the ability to picture Queen Latifah in a beauty story? Of course not. But Cover Girl did and they're doing well because of it.

The blog Jezebel.com has a monthly feature where they tally the number of non-white models in the editorials versus the ads, and month after month, it's whites-only in the editorials and a number of non-whites in the ads.

Okay, I'm done. Sorry for the screed. It is galling that this is an issue in 2008. The anger many feel is justifiable. Nick really got it.

By fistofnaomi at 18:52 Sat 02 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

I am also wondering are ASIAN designers and fashion editors .... wherever they are in New York , Tokyo, New Delhi or Beijing prepare to promote Black models ? ... I get this feeling that it is becoming a total joke and cliche that racism exist only among the so called ' whites' .... but it is very much accepted that Japan a key market for high fashion that when it comes to this issue no one dares, again, to say absolutely NOTHING ! ... a bit hypocritical in a way !

By Galileo's Universe at 20:42 Sat 02 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

Why is it that everytime when a white take a poke on racism they always only mention the black? This is such a cliche and old. Not even 'fashionable' anymore. Racism is a wider context and not just the affecting the black! Also fashion crossing over to more politacal issue is always cheesey and tacky

By Juice² at 03:10 Sun 03 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

What's all the fuss about? Why is it an issue that there are less black models than white ones? And what do white models give to the rest of the white female population that makes this such a grave injustice? Are black people really missing out? Or is this just an issue amongst white magazine readers? Or unimaginative fashion photographers who feel they need to pull 'issues' out their ass in the name of shameless self-promotion?

Since when did modeling become the most important gauge of racial representation? Modeling doesn't represent women so why is everyone surprised that it doesn't represent race too?

Models, to most people are of very little cultural significance. Most people don't even know who Gemma Ward is and she's considered a supermodel these days. There are plenty of black women in the public eye in arenas that are far more influential to people's lives than the fashion industry.

Why are people who work in fashion so ideologically limited that they can't see anything else in the world without the frame of fashion surrounding it?

Black women are totally over-represented in music. Should we start running a crusade for the lack of white female soul singers? Jews are over-represented in comedy? Should we start running a crusade in the name of getting more protestant baptists up on stage? Czech girls are over-represented in the sex industry. Does anyone see where this is going? Funny that, they're also over-represented in modeling. I wonder if there's a connection there...

I can't help but feel disappointed by the utter pointlessness of this debate. Fashion tirelessly promotes itself as exclusive and unattainable so why are people dumb enough to be shocked by its absence of social conscience? Fashion has never been about representing the demos. Fashion as an industry is inherently fascist as this is the only mode through which it can function commercially. What do black people have to gain by becoming objectified; a fate that they spent years struggling against anyway? Who knows, maybe it's a blessing for black girls that they have stronger role models to look up to, individuals who are celebrated for their talents, not women like Naomi Campbell.

By bamia at 12:53 Sun 03 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

Black Issue of Italian Vogue Fashion Italian Vogue July 2008 Models Naomi Campbell Steven Meisel Vogue Italia July 2008

Black is finally in fashion at Vogue
By Ian Johnston and Photini Philippidou
Sunday, 27 April 2008

It's an open secret in the fashion industry: black models rarely get jobs on catwalks, in magazines and on billboards. According to executives, they do not inspire women to spend money.

Apart from Naomi Campbell in one Louis Vuitton advertisement this season, it would be difficult to find a single black model in a prominent position in a magazine. Carole White of the Premier Model Agency says she has received casting briefs requesting "no ethnics" and adds: "According to magazines, black models don't sell."

The leading British photographer Nick Knight says: "The fashion industry and the advertising industry are steeped in racism. You just have to look around at the number of black girls you see in ads – virtually nil. Among the main fashion brands, they are completely under-represented. It's shocking and atrocious."

Mr Knight blames business people at the top of the industry. A common attitude among them, he says, is that black models are "not aspirational" or "don't sell in Asia". He goes on: "I have tried to redress the balance. It is enormously important to use black models and models of different ethnic backgrounds."

Now a counterattack to the racism of the fashion industry is coming from an unlikely source: Vogue Italia. The July issue of the fearsomely cutting-edge quarterly will feature black models almost exclusively, shot by the photographer Steven Meisel.

Franca Sozzani, editor-in-chief of Vogue Italia, told The Independent on Sunday: "We are using a lot of black models, like Iman, not only the models of today – a lot of different girls." Asked why she had decided to do this, she said: "Because nobody is using black girls. I see so many beautiful girls and they were complaining that they are not used enough."

Ms Sozzani admitted the issue could yet prove to be unpopular among some in Italy, where the xenophobic Northern League is part of the new coalition led by Silvio Berlusconi: "Maybe in our country it is not the best idea. But I don't care. I think it is not my problem if they don't like it – it's their problem."

Sarah Doukas, managing director of model agency Storm, says: "There has been frustration over the years from a lot of ethnic models, stylists and editors who have felt that they were not working as much as some of their Caucasian counterparts."

But she added: "There has been a shift recently: supportive media coverage has had an impact on the fashion industry."

Nick Knight welcomes the prospect of Vogue Italia's all-black edition but adds a note of caution: "I hope all the advertising goes in that issue."

By Galileo's Universe at 17:09 Sun 03 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

I'm speaking as a mixed race guy here who grew up in an entirely white environment, my family included. I wonder if a factor here is mainstream perception of black people as more 'sexual' than their white counterparts, or more lushly inviting at least, glossy skin, full lips, heavy eyelids an' all. The dominant shift in fashion for fifteen years has been a slow but constant movement away from sexual maturity, health and sensuality to a parched, sex-repelling aesthetic that is not nearly so 'cutting edge' as the tastemakers would seemingly like to think.

The appearance in the early '90s of Kate Moss, Tania Court and numerous other younger, paler and less developed girls seemed intriguing and fresh, like something spoken in an obscure tongue. But as a dominant sexual type it has lost all valid context and just appears strange and neurotic. That's not to slam those girls: they were natural and normal, and their very charm was their guilelessness.

But thinness, pallidness and extreme youth have now turned into some kind of poisonous, lizard-eyed fetish, as though some spirit of human community must be kept at arm's length, and I honestly sometimes wonder whether I should be glad that 'ethnic' models have largely been left out of it. Maybe it's no bad thing that high fashion imagery, oscillating between tired luxe lifestyle poses, skateboard urchin sexlessness and puerile shock tactics has left Western minorities out of the equation and able to define ourselves.

On the rare occasions where black models do feature, they're often blanded out until their ethnicity is merely incidental or, at the other extreme, presented in high contrast, living waxwork form, the darkest models polished to a sepulchural extreme, as dehumanised as Grace Jones reworked by the hand of Jean-Paul Goude.

I applaud your stance, Nick, and I for one don't glimpse anything misguided in the image of Naomi wielding a gun. It's clearly an abstract revenge of the most fantastic kind, no more documentarial than an Ally McBeal catfight. And the sight of a black model cheering atop a military tank hardly invites parallels with the youth of Islington or Elephant & Castle. But when it comes to my clothing purchases I'll vote with my feet, and however large the problem looms with those such as yourself who work alongside fashion's powerbrokers, their misanthropic and puerile aesthetics have no influence on me.

By Dion at 02:17 Mon 04 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

I, personally, find that talking constantly in such divisional terms ... doesn't seem to further any good cause ! ... It seems to echo the very deep animosities and a very deep rooted HATE , justifiable or unjustifiable , and if such deep 'hidden feelings for "REVENGE" do seem to be the motivation of whatever cause then we are DEFINITELY 'enlightening' no one ! ... I wonder if taking such path of imaginative guerilla ' heroism' does , indeed, help to gain sympathy and understanding from those who aren't open to a new kind of thinking ....

You can take the road of rational thinking to persuade or you can take the road of using ' metaphorical' violence by showering indiscriminately everyone who happens to be 'WHITE' with imaginary bullets .... but one thing is for sure the images will only echo that violent and irrational stereotype that I personally wish people would erase from their minds, and if we are to take into account the recent events in BRITAIN where some youth seem to be slaughtering each other out of boredom, so it seems !! .... In the end I keep wondering that if portraying violence with such schizophrenic laugh of insanity will indeed win more souls and help to weaken such vivid and strong images of using killing in order..." to get what I want... my way !!! ' ... I WONDER !

By Galileo's Universe at 07:54 Mon 04 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

GOOD NEWS !! for those who have little faith ! ... Solange Knowles, Bejonce's sister will become the new face of ARMANI JEANS !

By Galileo's Universe at 18:09 Mon 04 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

Firstly, Nick - Bravo!!! Thank you so very much for acknowledging the complicity of those that are held responsible for moving fashion forward for being silent partners in this offense. No longer can the gate keepers of fashion remain silent. Silence equals complicity!

My name is Malcolm Harris and I am an African-American fashion designer living and working here in New York City. My resume reads like a "Who’s Who" in fashion (apprenticed at the houses of YSL, JPG and Paco Rabanne - talents first brought to the forefront by Madonna as well as Patricia Field) meanwhile most people in fashion or in the world have never heard of me... Ask yourself why??? No one has ever disputed my talent (praised by Cathy Horyn, Suzy Menkes and even Diane Von Furstenberg herself), but still, when it comes to the majority of the fashion press and/or industry decision makers promoting a "black fashion designer" is almost unheard of... Remember, without black designers to book black and/or ethnic models, the cycle continues…

Let me share a quick story with you… Recently, I had a meeting with a potential investor who said to me the most disgusting and racist thing I have ever heard. This man with his huge checkbook and impressive portfolio said to me, “Based on your talent alone I would have no problems backing you today, but the fact of the matter is that it would truly take Barack Obama winning president for me to even consider backing an African-American designer at this moment. People just aren’t ready to buy luxury products from a Black designer.” He said this half-jokingly, which only added to the serious and insulting nature of his comments. I was absolutely floored. He went on to say to me, “People only buy Sean Jean and Kimora’s clothes because they are already big celebrities and they aren’t expensive.” The fact that he was using these two people as reference points as fashion designers truly showed me his lack of respect for me as well as my profession. Of course, I graciously told him to go “Fuck Himself” and that when Barack became President I would come back so that he could “kiss my black ass”. Which brings me to my second point…

I have always made it a point to let people know that racism exists in fashion – and for this, I have been systematically punished by the fashion industry if not shunned because I refuse to “play nice”. And this has come from both parts of the field – politically correct blacks that don’t want me to make any waves and whites that wish I would simply take my toys and go home. I haven’t even heard that blacks should be more like Asians in fashion and simply “sneak in the best way we know hose”… This was whispered to me by a prominent “African-American” in the fashion industry. Believe me when I say – “Racism in fashion is alive and thriving…”

Nick when you pointed out how this behavior of silent and complicit racism within the fashion industry makes you increasingly sad and angry – I ask you – “Imagine how we feel?” My own personal anger and sadness are palpable. But instead of the fashion industry addressing our concerns they turn us into raging figures of hatred and bitterness and label us “Angry Black Men or Women”. My disdain for Naomi Campbell’s public persona is well recorded and doesn’t really require any lengthy commentary, however, I myself am guilty of never asking – “Just why does Naomi continue to behave in this manner?” I finally believe I know why… The answer has been staring us all in the face but we all chose to ignore it. “Naomi is a product of an industry that has overtly told her since she was a teenager that you are not as good nor as valuable as your white counterpart. You will always be less than and simply consider yourself lucky to be here.” That is why Naomi is so very angry… This is why such a beautiful creature continues to behave in such an ugly way…

Almost a year ago I was featured in The New York Times (two years straight) just before fashion week regarding being one of the few black fashion designers showing during fashion week. In less than a year since the last article ran, I have lost all desire to be a part of the fashion industry as it exists today. Instead, I have created an entire new language and forum for myself that has almost nothing to do with the “powers-that-be” or the fashion industry per se. I have found a way to reach my customer base direct. But I am one of the fortunate few… On a daily basis I receive emails from black designers, models, hair/make-up artists and fashion stylists wondering why there aren’t many blacks in fashion for them to aspire to be like, or why they can’t find a way to “get in”… I wish people could feel the pain and frustration in most of these emails. I try my best to answer them as cautiously as possible as I always want to give them hope – but sometimes it’s difficult to dispense hope when you know that an entire industry is guarding the gate in an effort to keep them out. And this has more to do with simple advertising dollars and cents.

I truly do believe the proverbial Pandora’s box on racism has been opened and we must all now have the courage to keep it open. The dialogue must be broadened beyond simply using black models as we all know they merely act as a microcosm if not shield to fashion’s dirtier secret.

Nick, as an African-American fashion designer, I would like to personally thank you for acknowledging the struggle of blacks in fashion through your narrative as well as commemorating our anger and frustration via your stirring video of a machine gun wielding Naomi. The discussion has now begun – now let’s hope we can collectively move towards reparations…

The time has come!!!

By malsirrah at 21:29 Mon 04 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

more Patrick

By KaWai at 23:05 Mon 04 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

There were lots of black models being featured in high fashion magazines in the 1980's.

By KaWai at 23:25 Mon 04 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

Women all get objectified in high fashion, I don't mind that, high fashion is about certain sense of idealism of beauty and drama, but we are not talking about that, we are talking about job opportunities, and opportunities for exposure.

By KaWai at 23:32 Mon 04 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

recent ad

By KaWai at 23:33 Mon 04 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

Interesting and enlightening reading about a personal experience in the matters of what it is to be a black in the fashion industry .... but I cannot understand that bit about Naomi behaving the way she does because : "Naomi is a product of an industry that has overtly told her since she was a teenager that you are not as good nor as valuable as your white counterpart. You will always be less than and simply consider yourself lucky to be here."That is why Naomi is so very angry " This is why such a beautiful creature continues to behave in such an ugly way'"

REALLY ? I mean is this all officially recorded as to be used as FACTS ??? ... How can someone who is blessed by nature and fable like fortune assume the role of the ' POOR VICTIM ' in spite of having the status of being a glamourous SUPERMODEL , SUPER RICH, FAMOUS, treated like a SUPERSTAR , get away with murder as often as possible and then JUSTIFY her utterly poor and selfish attitude towards fellow humans who have absolutely nothing to do with her demons ? . What has NAOMI done in real life to help her fellow men who are a lot less blessed and cannot get such dreamlike opportunities ? ..... ACTIONS indeed speak louder that mere hollow words !
I have a great admiration for talented people like OPRAH because she is not walking around with a huge ship on her shoulder .... no I don't think NAOMI has much founded reasons to go around spitting and calling everyone who doesn't happen to bow to her to call them racists or be abusive just because she may simply wish to be treated as the Queen Bee ..... Queen Naomi ... and RACE has, in my opinion , absolutely nothing to do with it .... let's get real !

By Galileo's Universe at 13:48 Tue 05 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

Galileo's Universe, you took my referral to the 'abstract revenge' posed by Naomi and ran a mile with it. Why should it be intended as a bitter recrimination against all white people, as opposed to those who find endless excuses to exclude ethnic models in campaigns and on runways? The photographer, I presume the conceiver of the idea, is himself white. I do agree, though that such a response, however liberating, may be shortsighted. And it certainly is unfortunate that an infantile, self-pitying and unjustifiably wealthy woman has appointed herself spokesperson for all disgruntled and genuinely neglected black models. However credible Malsirrah's indignation and fury, I actually think a little insiduousness, rather than screaming confrontation wins the day.

Many minorities in the US and UK, Indian and Bangladeshi, Chinese, Jewish and Italian, live by the credo of self-reliance and self-enlightenment above all. They refuse to claim victimage, form alliances amongst themselves in business, and stress strong family links and a collective, unbreakable sense of identity that does not yield so easily to fashionable tastes and opinions. They enjoy a sense of community and a place at the powerbroking table. Yet black people, often poorer and more fragmented as a collective, are far more widely represented in mainstream media: I haven't seen a model of Indian descent in a major fashion magazine since the days of Yasmeen Ghauri, no doubt in part due to the strong influence of religion.

It's painfully true that many young black people have never known the tutelage and worldly confidence that a responsible father can provide for his children, and thorny issues such as crime amongst black youth or higher levels of depression are routinely attributed to negligent governments or negation by the white majority rather than family instability or a divisive culture, things which seemingly overwhelm the Christian convictions of black Britons and Americans. Like many white working class kids, so many black kids pour their energies into pursuing success of a self-advertising kind in music or sport, drifting into unfulifilling jobs, if at all, when life defeats their bright hopes. Maybe Chinese and Indian kids in the UK, having almost no representation on the sports field, in movies or in the singles charts are blessed to be free of such a narcissistic pipe dream culture. Black success stories? Music moguls and urban clothing designers.

By Dion at 22:09 Tue 05 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

THere's Vogue India, Vogue China, Vogue Taiwan, perhaps for black people to create more opportunities in the modeling and fashion field is to have their own high fashion magazine, more Kimora Lee and Tyra Banks, who run businesses and call the shots.

By KaWai at 22:42 Tue 05 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

Vogue India

By KaWai at 22:43 Tue 05 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

I couldn't find any high fashion magazine such as Vogue based in South Africa, perhaps Naomi could do something about that.

By KaWai at 22:45 Tue 05 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

Asians and Indians are having increasing shares in the field of high fashion, but they are doing it on their own turfs, as their purchasing powers are increasing. Internationally, there's still only total of a handful of well known Chinese and Indian models. Photo-Indian Elle

By KaWai at 22:52 Tue 05 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

Kimora for Chanel

By KaWai at 22:57 Tue 05 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

So the question is-is it an unrealistic hope for blacks and other non white ethnic groups of models that they could ever gain a more leveled field of job opportunities in high fashion, in the territories of Europe and the American continent?

By KaWai at 23:06 Tue 05 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

Photo-South Korean Vogue

By KaWai at 23:22 Tue 05 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

South African fashion runway

By KaWai at 23:24 Tue 05 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

more from South Africa

By KaWai at 23:25 Tue 05 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

South Africa fashion week

By KaWai at 23:25 Tue 05 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

From what I've read that Asian models if they are in high demand in Asia don't really care for the European and American market, of course if they are given chances they wouldn't reject them, but there's enough jobs for many Asian models to go around just within Asia, especially in China.

By KaWai at 02:44 Wed 06 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

PS... Perhaps Mr. Knight should do a project about talented women of all races who are successful in their professions ... doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc and style them in great fashion to celebrate their determination to aspire to become more than just a time limited fashion model ...:)

By Galileo's Universe at 08:21 Wed 06 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

In countries such as the UK, the US, parts of western Europe, their fashion industries perhaps need to use more non-white ethnic models because their countries are made up of so many ethnic groups. In countries such as China, India, regions in Southeast Asia, where there are mostly Asians, they tend to use Asian models(Japan is the exception, their Nippon Vogue often use white models for covers), just because the readers do like to see Asian models, they like to see themselves being represented, and that sells magazines. It's a global village, but I would like to see in a bookstore, different magazines from all over the world, and they each celebrate beauties of their own people. But in western Europe, where so many different ethnic groups live together, in their fashion magazines, it makes sense to see more non white ethnic models, as oppose to only seeing white models. I am not talking about role model, and I believe this subject never meant to talk about fashion models as role model, as I stressed before, it's about work, job opportunities for models working in Europe and the US.

By KaWai at 17:30 Wed 06 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

I saw this film on You Tube yesterday but when I went back today to show it to a friend, it had gone.What is that about?

By la at 17:29 Wed 06 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

fashion magazine in Africa

By KaWai at 17:42 Wed 06 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

more from Africa

By KaWai at 17:43 Wed 06 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

Fashion from SA designer Julian

By KaWai at 17:43 Wed 06 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

more of Julian

By KaWai at 17:44 Wed 06 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

Dubai fashion week

By KaWai at 18:24 Wed 06 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

Dubai fashion week

By KaWai at 18:25 Wed 06 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

Middle Eastern fashion mag

By KaWai at 18:27 Wed 06 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

Black models have more work opportunities on runways in Singapore, it seems, I researched and found quite a significant numbers of black or darker skin ethnic models working the runway.

By KaWai at 18:29 Wed 06 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

More from Singapore fashion week

By KaWai at 18:29 Wed 06 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

So are the fashion people at the top in Europe and US so out of touch with the rest of the world? Or they just don't care or refuse to see what's going on in the rest of the world? Photo-Singapore fashion week

By KaWai at 18:32 Wed 06 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

Seems black models could find more work in Singapore or South Asia than in Europe at the moment, as Singapore is so cosmopolitan and is the cross road of South Asia and the rest of Asia. Singapore are more open to using dark skin ethnic models than Japan and China, as they could represent a significant portion of the population of that region. Photo-South Asia fashion magazine

By KaWai at 18:39 Wed 06 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

KaWai, we get it! Yes, there are 'mainstream' fashion mags such as Vogue and Elle in many Asian countries, but they represent the values and mores of those nations in such a different way to those in the UK; I doubt Vogue India is running pieces on bisexuality or abortion rights. And I doubt that black models would have any easier a time of finding exposure in those sectors than they do in the West.

It's heartbreaking that as China, Russia, India and Brazil appear set to enter the world stage Africa sinks deeper into desperation and despair. Far from being appealingly 'exotic', alluringly mysterious, or an exciting business prospect, Africa brings only horror stories to Western news programmes, forming, like suicide bomb attacks in the Middle East, a blurred trail of gore and terror in the minds of attention deficit young Westeners.

Unsavoury assumptions abound among certain scientists that black people are somehow predisposed toward savagery and irrationality, and even liberals, in their desire to represent all equally routinely insult those minorities, recalling Kipling's pontification on the 'white man's burden'. I sometimes find the call for black representation in high fashion also troublingly double edged.

In the East expectations are no more positive; a racial tier system with black people firmly at the bottom is ingrained in the minds of many Muslims, as a Muslim friend recently informed me. Anime flicks from Japan portray black American characters as sex crazed thugs barely capable of a grunt. Perhaps in Asia, with its attitudes toward race, class, womens' rights and sexual freedoms that would strike many of us as cold, there is the genuine belief that 'aspirational' and 'black' just don't go together.

And what's arguably more peculiar is the disproportionally high use of white models in Asian magazines and commercials. Where were Asians in the campaign for Rogatis menswear, a Korean brand marketed in Korea? Japanese women regularly visits surgeons to have their eyes widened (though, in fairness, fake tan sales would shrivel without white women) and Eurasian looks have long been popular in the East, from pop stars and romantic leads to Manga superheroes. As a music journalist once commented, it doesn't spring from any sense of Eastern inferiority, it's just odd.

The ascendancy of Russia, with it's appalling popular drift toward fascist sympathy, as an economic powerhouse will hardly improve things. And it's scandalous that Brazilian designers in a recent fashion season hired only three black models between them, all male. The one thing to take comfort in, and great comfort, is the growing popularity of black stars in movies and popular music. Will Smith could never have carried a movie on his name alone twenty years ago. Black women from Oprah Winfrey to Queen Latifah and Beyonce Knowles (brassy dye job and all, unfortunately) serve as role models for women of varying ages and all racial groups.

What black people need to do now is give greater voice to positive, classy and aspirational black figures like Jesse Jackson, Dionne Warwick and Bill Cosby and kick the 50 Cents and Li'l Kims into the alley where they belong. Their influence IS damaging, and change has a finite timeframe.

By Dion at 22:38 Wed 06 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

'Tis true.

By Dion at 02:03 Thu 07 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

Showstudio doesn't have to answer to advertisers, the creative team has full control on who to work with and image manipulations, and many people tuned in to Showstudio, images produced here sometimes end up in V Magazine or W magazine, there's something Nick could control as far as using more non white models.

By KaWai at 06:19 Thu 07 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

PIC : Steven Meisel

FROM : http://wordpress.com/tag/jc-report/
Posted in Fashion by stylecartel on July 16th, 2008
Blogs about: Jc Report

What can I say? Oh, what I wasted my money! I brought sales to an aging Empire. I have to put in my 50 Cents and weigh in on the ‘Black Issue, it was horrible. Yet, I have to say glad I have a reason to blog. I think that is why all the ageing magazine editors are loosing their ground in the industry. Move over the age of the blogger is coming and Free speech reins.

I think the old way to promote fashion is archaic and why so many fashion houses are re-thinking the entire online market strategy. Why cause we bloggers are free to say and e-print what we want. We really and truly can express ourselves and let our voices be heard. We don’t have to write stories to please advertisers etc. So I am free to say I hated it. Vogue Italia really “Dumbed it down.”

In today’s world it is sad to see that the world still looks at the ‘Black beauty’ as a sultry slave girl, Grace Jone’s kid sister, prostitute, token black girl and video ho. I support the women featured in the issue because at the end of the day business is business and all the models involved knew the rest of us black, brown, yellow and red bone girls just wanted to see an image we could relate too. I just wonder could any of you re-late?

I wish I had the time to go page for page, but I think it would just make me angry. How many more times do we need to see Naomi’s tits? Why did it take them until like page 166 to kick of the Black issue? OH thanks for the token beauty page ‘Hair so Frizzy.” With products by Phytospecific that I don’t think any women of colour uses. Would it have been too hard to ask advertisers to blacken it up a little?

Another missed opportunity for Vogue to do a black issue feature on the passing of Yves Saint Laurent sans the black models in his defile. How he revolutionized fashion by being one of the first to put black girls in his shows. They missed the target completely just check the pictures they used. Times like this I wished my Italian were better, so I could also judge on reporting not just visuals. Girlzzzzz and Boyz I even had better photos on, my blog about his passing. Missed opportunities.

Since I can only judge by the images because I only speak basic Italian. The images were awful, awful OK maybe not all but most. I am sickened by the image of Tina Turner, why did they have to print the worst picture of her just because Peter Lindbergh shot it!! Tina is timeless and reminds us that “black don’t crack” The entire ‘Outstanding’ story image wise was atrocious out of all the women featured Jody Watley, Angela Bassett, Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, and Queen Latifah I have to say hands down how is it possible that the Queens picture was the best? Also, where was Mary J at, Jill Scott and Ms. Keys?

Now on to Ghetto Fabulousness this is a love hate story I love Toccara Jones beautiful face, a real sized feminine silhouette and man what a pair of tits!!!! Wow!! But, same old same old. What would a black issue be with out a Ghetto Fab story to end the issue typical and tired? Yet I have to give props where props are due, she is amazing and big ups to Toccara Jones for showing the world a real black woman with tits and ass, and a beauty at that. How ghetto rich!

Final note: what a dis to Bethann Hardison a renegade in the business no photo of her?

I do congratulate the new faces and I hope we see the likes of Hollis from the New York Agency and Bettine from Agency Muse to remind us that black is beautiful. I would really like to know what others think, so please leave a comment.

P.S thank you Franca Sozzani Editor-in-Chief of the Italian edition of Vogue, a position she has held since 1988. For using us Black girls and giving us the chance to discuss how the world looks at black culture and how women of colour are perceived in the world of fashion. As well as why many of us stick around in the hopes that one day an all Black Issue will not stir so much debate and hullabaloo.

Footnote: Page 158 big up too Jason Campbell of the JC Report for his 50cents in the issue.

By Galileo's Universe at 18:00 Thu 07 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

PIC:Steven Meisel

JUNE 20 2008
www.myfashionlife.com/.

The wait ended yesterday when Vogue Italia's all black issue hit newsstands. Are we happy with the outcome? I personall's sparked valuable conversation about the lack of diversity on the runway today and forced certain issues to be brought out in the open"¦.and that can only be a good thing right?

I have asked my advertising clients so many times, " Can we use a black girl?" They say no." The concern is that consumers will resist the product, he said. "It all comes down to money" - Steven Meisel talking to Cathy Horyn
What is striking about Mr. Meisel " pictures, especially a portrait of Ms. Banks in a soft head-wrap and one of Ms. Lopez in a neat brocade turban, is how much beauty and life he was able to extract from them, so that you almost feel you are seeing these women for the first time. -Cathy Horyn

____________________________________

PS> It would be interesting to see how indeed it all comes down to money , meaning sales. Only the accurate statistics will be able to tell us who is RIGHT or who is WRONG !

By Galileo's Universe at 18:15 Thu 07 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

TOCARA JONES in KING MAGAZINE

Life & style
Fashion
Italian Vogue's black issue breaks fashion barrier
Ed Pilkington in New York
The Guardian, Friday June 20 2008
Article history

Italian Vogue has broken one of the fashion world's taboos by featuring only black models in its July issue. The pictures by New-York based Steven Meisel, one of the most successful photographers in the industry, fill about 100 pages of the magazine, and are accompanied by features on black women in the arts and entertainment.

The absence of black models on the covers of fashion magazines has long been a complaint inside the industry. The justification frequently given is that such covers "do not sell".

Leading black figures among models, designers and agents claim that the business has grown increasingly discriminatory, with levels of exposure for black women among the lowest since the 1960s. Several big names have formed a protest group in New York to highlight the problem.

Italian Vogue's editor, Franca Sozzani, said her decision was influenced by the New York group, as well as by Barack Obama's success in the US presidential primaries.

Meisel, who worked with Madonna on her controversial coffee-table book, Sex, brought several of the black fashion world's big names aboard for the issue. He photographed Naomi Campbell, Iman, Tyra Banks, Liya Kebede, Jourdan Dunn, Alek Wek and Pat Cleveland, among others.

"I thought, it's ridiculous, this discrimination. It's so crazy to live in such a narrow, narrow place. Age, weight, sexuality, race - every kind of prejudice," he told the New York Times. He blamed designers, magazine editors and advertisers for the decline in the numbers of black women in fashion shows. "I have asked my advertising clients so many times, 'Can we use a black girl?' They say no."

Among the black models on his roster was the full-figured Toccara Jones. Meisel argued that weight was also an issue in the fashion world.

Italian Vogue's all-black issue is unlikely to be emulated by its US sister magazine, however. As a gesture, American Vogue will this month run an article about the lack of black models.

By Galileo's Universe at 18:29 Thu 07 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

Tocara Jones

By Galileo's Universe at 18:41 Thu 07 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

From ANTM

By KaWai at 21:27 Fri 08 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

She tries to bring in fuller figure models too, and present them in the same high fashion style.

By KaWai at 21:28 Fri 08 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

The winner of that cycle was the one on the left, Danielle

By KaWai at 21:29 Fri 08 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

Winner of another cycle. She is mixed, black, Irish, and whole lots of different ethnicities.

By KaWai at 21:30 Fri 08 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

Tyra has taken the show to South Africa, Thailand, China, Tokyo, of course to the expected cities such as NY, Rome.

By KaWai at 21:31 Fri 08 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

A Latina winner from another cycle.

By KaWai at 21:32 Fri 08 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

Essence Magazine US.

By KaWai at 21:48 Fri 08 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

Essence Magazine

By KaWai at 21:49 Fri 08 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

Asian models if they don't get enough opportunities in Europe, as least they have tons of opportunities in Asia, and tons of high fashion magazines in Asia, and lots of those magazines could be found in the west as well(Nippon Vogue is sold in some Barns and Nobles, a chain major bookstore in the US), Korean Vogue, Taiwan Elle(in Chinese bookstores in the west), so they could be seen represented in very elegant, high styles, but Blacks(African decent) don't have those magazines, as far as I know, in the quality of Vogue or equivalent to Vogue or Elle. If someone could upload an African edition of Vogue, or eqivalent to that I would love to see it.

A very rare US Vogue cover

By KaWai at 22:09 Fri 08 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

I have not yet seen a western Vogue cover with an Asia, or with Asian and black models together.

By KaWai at 22:10 Fri 08 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

There seems to be only 2 black models circulating the whole fashion industry at the moment.

By KaWai at 22:13 Fri 08 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

and Naomi

By KaWai at 22:14 Fri 08 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

One of the first black models in Vogue back in the sixties.

By KaWai at 22:17 Fri 08 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

One of the handful of black models working for Vogue today.

By KaWai at 22:20 Fri 08 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

" WHO EXACTLY IS TO BLAME FOR THE LACK OF BLACK FACES IS MORE OF A CHIKEN-AND-EGG ISSUE ...... "

Life & style
Fashion
Why are all the models white?
At this season's fashion shows, there has barely been a black or Asian face on the catwalks. Hadley Freeman reports from Paris on the whitewashing of the catwalk
Hadley Freeman
The Guardian, Friday October 5 2007
Article history

A disturbing problem has appeared on the catwalks this season. It is one that suggests the fashion industry has not just a warped but a fully offensive mentality when it comes to judging how women should look. It is a problem that has been simmering for some time, but because talking about it might offend the designers and scare off lucrative advertising accounts, hardly anyone has spoken out - and things have only got worse. We now have a situation that could lead to serious problems not only for some models, but for the public as a whole, making millions of women feel ugly, undesirable and simply wrong. And no, this is not about weight - it's about race.

The modelling business has always been dominated by Caucasian faces but not for a long time has the situation been so extreme. This season's catwalks have been whiter than ever. "It's true - it has been particularly bad," says Michael Roberts, fashion director of Vanity Fair. "There seem to be only three or four models [from] ethnic minority [backgrounds] around at the moment. The fashion industry, for all its airs of sophistication, has very insular ideas of beauty. It's supposed to be a global industry but this is not being reflected on the runway."

I saw two black models and two Asian models during the whole of Milan fashion week - compared with hundreds of white ones. They were the same four I saw in New York. And in Paris it has been even worse. It is absolutely the norm for a show to be entirely Caucasian. If a black or Asian model is used it is either in a streetwear show, such as Babyphat in New York, or as a form of what the London-based Nigerian designer Duro Olowu calls "tokenism - you know, just the one black girl, and she's usually wearing the crazy printed dress". A good example of this was at the Dior show in Paris this week when the Asian model was assigned the Chinese-style dress. "Then these designers claim they get their ideas from the street or from Africa! It's crazy!" says Olowu. "This is just not reflective of our time."

According to targetmarketnews.com black women alone spend £10bn on fashion every year, and that isn't even accounting for the increasingly high-spending Asian markets. But not even the recent launches of Chinese and Indian Vogue seem to have made much of an impact on the runways, although a recent report in the fashion trade journal Women's Wear Daily claimed that there is "a notable increase" in Asian models, doubtless thanks to their naturally slim build and a lucrative market. Of black models, however, there is a definite "lack". This seems ironic considering that, in the past, the fashion industry prided itself on breaking barriers, appreciating all manner of female beauty. In her recently published autobiography, the Sudanese model Alek Wek claims the fashion industry has been nothing but supportive of her, celebrating her non-Caucasian looks and, for the first time in her life, "making her feel beautiful". But Wek's experience appears to be very much the exception to the rule.

"Look at the runways of the 70s and 80s - there was a cross-section and it was reflective of the industry being international. Now you just have white girls who are 14 or 15 and who barely know how to walk," says Olowu.

"I guess the fashion tide has turned - the trend seems to be for young models from eastern Europe," suggests Edward Enniful, contributing editor to US Vogue.

The truth is, though, that fashion has never been particularly strong in this area. Yes, Yves Saint Laurent may have made what was then an extraordinary step by casting black models in his early shows. However, in a book published last year about Saint Laurent, The Beautiful Fall, writer Alicia Drake recounts how the designer once refused to cast a black model because she was too "Musée de l'Homme [Natural History Museum]". At a recent New York panel discussion on the lack of black models, Naomi Campbell recounted how, at the height of the supermodel era, Christy Turlington told Dolce & Gabbana: "If you don't use Naomi, you don't get us." By "us" she meant herself and Linda Evangelista.

During the same panel discussion Bethann Hardison, a former model, said: "This is the one industry that still has the freedom to refer to people by their colour and reject them. I came up in the 60s. I feel it's worse than it's ever been." Such a feeling stands up to closer analysis: there have certainly been black supermodels in the past - Iman, Tyra Banks and, of course, Naomi Campbell. Now, however, it's difficult to name a single black model, let alone a supermodel.

The situation has worsened because the fashion industry has become more corporate, with big conglomerates buying small companies and more money up for grabs, and the whole business has become much more conservative, hence the endless recycling of trends from decades past, and the way the runways look more and more alike - and more and more white.

Who exactly is to blame for the lack of black faces is more of a chicken-and-egg issue. Do the agents ask only for Caucasian girls, or is it the designers? Many blame the former. Julia, a 19-year-old black model who featured in Olowu's show in London last month, and who did not want to give her surname, says that her agency in Paris told her not to bother even coming for the shows this year. "They said I'm not tall enough," she says, with a sceptical roll of her eyes. "I know girls just as tall as me who are going. There is a problem. I've seen it first hand."

Enniful echoes this point: "Casting agencies just don't look for black girls - I've had to start scouting [for non-white models] myself instead of waiting for the agencies to come forward. There are one or two bookers out there who are good, but there definitely need to be more."

But the truth is, casting agents work for designers and if designers wanted something other than Caucasian faces, they would find and supply it for them. Olowu, whose recent show featured almost wholly non-white models, is uncompromising: "The fault lies with the designers - their ignorance and their racism. Yes, it's true that a lot of agencies don't bother sending non-white models - my casting agent told me that I'm the only one who asks specifically for non-white models - but things will only change if the designers take a stand and ask for them."

But it's worth asking if we, the public, play a part. As with the debate about why designers favour models with visible bones instead of flesh, they are showing what they think the public wants. "What's really shocking to me is that no one seems to talk about this problem. The British Fashion Council and the media get all excited about underweight models but on this subject, they don't seem to notice," says Olowu.

"I really can't see anything changing soon," says Roberts. "When I started in this business my being black was odd, but being a man was more so. To be honest, I don't know if things are worse but it's strange now that there are hardly any major black models."

If the public really does want the situation to change, people have to make the point the only way the fashion business understands: by not buying products from designers who believe there is no beauty beyond the pale.

By Galileo's Universe at 05:54 Sat 09 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

"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; IT'S SUCH HARD WORK FOR THE BOOKERS " .........

Fashion is racist: insider lifts lid on 'ethnic exclusion'
One of Britain's leading model agents has offered a disturbing insight into the racial discrimination holding back the careers of black models in the British fashion indusrty. Rob Sharp reports
Saturday, 16 February 2008

Models often too afraid to launch a claim 'Why should catwalks be so white?'

Speaking as London Fashion Week drew to a close, 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.

"Sadly we are in the business where you stock your shelves with what sells," she said.

"According to the magazines, black models don't sell," White continued. "People don't tend to talk about it, but black models have to be so beautiful and perfect because we can't have a lot of diversity with black models; it's harder work for the agency because there's not so much on offer. White models can have more diversity."

Ms White pointed the finger at those organising model castings, adding: "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; it's such hard work for the bookers."

Her comments will reopen one of the most sensitive debates within the fashion industry, where the presence of racism has been a cause of fierce resentment in the past. After a brief golden age in the Eighties and Nineties, Ms White's analysis suggests that fashion show designers and the industry media have regressed to an earlier, more blinkered approach. Naomi Campbell has been particularly critical of the trend, at one point threatening to set up a model agency for black women.

While the director of the Storm agency, Simon Chambers, recently denied the number of high-profile ethnic minority models was diminishing, he said the move towards racial diversity "is not happening quite as fast as predicted".

Ms White said the lack of ethnical-minority models was partly due to a lack of courage in catwalk shows on the part of designers: "In the Eighties and Nineties, you had whole shows with black girls. Now each agency will have one, maybe four; the designers are not as brave."

Images from London Fashion Week, which ended yesterday, feature few black and ethnic-minority models. On the web pages of the fashion site style.com, three shows chosen at random featured black models in eight out of 136 photographs taken during the week. The March issue of Vogue ' with more than 400 pages of editorial and advertising ' has 14 shots with black or Asian women 'two of them featuring Naomi Campbell.

This month's 362-page Marie Claire has eight photographs featuring black women and four examples are in the current 312-page Glamour magazine.

The use of black models in catwalk shows and magazines tends to be limited to a handful of "big names". They include Campbell, the Ethiopian Liya Kebede and Alek Wek, who is Sudanese.

Ms Campbell, a former Premier model, said yesterday: "There is a lack of women of colour within the fashion industry which needs to be addressed. It is important for the agents, managers, advertisers and designers who are promoting change to speak out. We are not here to complain, we need to find a solution."

Ms Campbell highlighted the work of her manager, Bethann Hardison, who recently led a series of discussions in New York on the lack of diversity in fashion. Responding to the latest evidence of racism in the industry, Ms Hardison said: "The problem for me is that, in the 1980s and early 1990s, there was a good representation of black people on the catwalks and in the magazines. It's not like black models never had a sense of participation. Once you have climbed to the top of the mountain and crossed the river it is disappointing to have fallen all the way back down again."

Trevor Phillips, chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, who helped write a series of documentaries three years ago on the changing faces of beauty, said it was a misconception that black models were less versatile. He said: "The idea that black models can only be put in exotica or urban clothing is 15 to 20 years out of date. But if you look at four of the world's most famous black models' Campbell, Tyra Banks, Wek and Noemie Lenoir ' they come from four countries, their looks are all different and they are all physically dissimilar. There's more diversity in those four than there are in all the models of Britain, Italy and Scandinavia put together."

Janelle Oswald, a reporter at The Voice, aimed at the UK Afro-Caribbean community, was equally scathing. "Black people and models are very diverse," she said. "Within the black community, we have a motto that says 'out of many we are one'. I just came from London Fashion Week and I saw the Jamaican supermodel Nell Robinson ' who has graced numerous magazine covers, done work for Victoria's Secret and the Gavin Douglas show today. How much diversity do you want?"

Nick Knight, a photographer who is known for his shoots featuring unconventional models, said the lack of black girls in British fashion 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."

Mr Knight confirmed he had heard of editors not using black models on their covers because they believed they did not meet readers' expectations.

Ms White said her agency did make an effort to seek out more diverse modelling talent: "We actively scout for black models. We do find Indian and Pakistani models harder to recruit because often their parents don't like them entering the business."

By Galileo's Universe at 06:22 Sat 09 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

"Editors, she said, should be 'forced' to use a certain proportion of black models even if it hit their circulation.

Dame Vivienne Westwood: Fashion Industry is Racist

This is a hard one. On the one hand, of course, magazines -- as a business -- must sell. It goes without saying. On the other hand, because of the way things are, black faces cut magazine sales significantly. So, What is to be done?

Fashion magazines -- whether we want to admit it or not -- have great influence in determining what we in society regard as beautiful. Fashion magazines valorize thin, busty blonde women. That is the lo ultimo of beauty in our culture. Are we to leave it that way? Ought we to care?

Postmodern-Punk-glam Goddess Vivienne Westwood -- the only woman ever allowed to smoke in the Paper magazine offices -- says fashion magazines should, for a while at least, be forced to put a certain number of faces of people with color on the cover. The Corsair is not sure he agrees (Who would enforce such an edict? The State? Pfft), but it is interesting (Especially coming from such a working-class iconic source). It is even more interesting if such an idea were voluntarily entered upon by a confederation of major fashion glossies. The lifeliness is, of course, of such an event is -- alas -- doubtful. From Telegraph:

"Vivienne Westwood, the founder of punk style who has become the grand dame of British fashion, is no stranger to controversy.

"Vivienne Westwood described this Government as 'the most autocratic we have ever had'

"She has now turned her fire on the magazine industry calling for a quota of black and ethnic-minority models to be used on front covers.

"Describing the fashion industry as 'racist', Dame Vivienne singled out magazines as particularly culpable.

"Editors, she said, should be 'forced' to use a certain proportion of black models even if it hit their circulation.

"She recalled a conversation with a fashion magazine editor regarding the use of black models which had shocked her.

"'She said that what you always have to have on a magazine cover is a face, that is what sells the magazine, and she told me that you could not put a black person on there because sales halve,' she said."

Of course this would never happen, even in an industry -- at least on paper -- as "politically correct" as the fashion industry. But Westwood is a controversialist trying to start a conversation. A conversation is a good place to start (And, Dammi, The Corsair would love to see some more Asian and Latino faces on fashion magazines as well!).

Bookmark The Corsair (9/18/2007)

By Galileo's Universe at 06:31 Sat 09 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

According to official figures, nearly 7 per cent of Brazil's famously varied population consider themselves black, 43 per cent see themselves as mixed-race, and 50 per cent call themselves white.
ABC NEWS

Brazil probes fashion show racism claims

Posted Wed Jan 23, 2008 3:00pm AEDT

Authorities in Brazil have opened a probe into suspected racism at the Sao Paulo Fashion Week after reports that non-white models were badly under-represented on the catwalk.

"The object of the investigation is to see if there is racism in the event," prosecutor Erika Pucci said, from Sao Paulo state's Public Ministry heading the inquiry.

She said that if it was shown that agencies or individuals involved with the show were deliberately discriminating against non-white models, criminal charges could be brought.

Alternatively civil action could occur if it turned out the Brazilian fashion industry was not deliberately excluding blacks, Asians or indigenous models, but was overlooking them because of a marketing bias.

Pucci said the Sao Paulo Fashion Week's organizer, Paulo Borges, had defended the small number of minority models by saying there were fewer non-white models available for the designers.

"We're not convinced," the prosecutor said, adding: "We want reassurances that there are in fact not enough [minority] models, or to find out whether there is in fact discrimination."

The Sao Paulo Fashion Week, the most important fashion event in Latin America, started January 16 and is to close Wednesday (local time).

Although a few black models were seen strutting up on the catwalk, the overwhelming majority of the women showing off the clothes were white.

The Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper, which was the first to report on the apparent bias, said that of the 1,128 models participating in the event, just 28 - or 2.5 per cent - were black.

According to official figures, nearly 7 per cent of Brazil's famously varied population consider themselves black, 43 per cent see themselves as mixed-race, and 50 per cent call themselves white.

The daily quoted one stylist, Sandro Barros, as saying the winter collections showing at the Sao Paulo Fashion Show were more favourable for pale models.

"It's easier to see black models in the summer [collection] shows," he said.

By Galileo's Universe at 06:58 Sat 09 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

" THERE IS SOMETHING REALLY WRONG AMONG ALL OF US ...... WHEN IT COMES TO RACISM ..... PERHAPS WE ALL SHOULD BE MORE OPEN AND TOTALLY HONEST ABOUT IT AND ESTABLISH CERTAIN CODE OF CONDUCT IN HOW TO PRACTICE WHAT WE ALL PREACH ... AND ADMIT THAT WE ARE ALL ..... GUILTY SOMEHOW ! "

http://www.tabunka.org/newsletter/black_racism.html

Black Racism
By: Ying Ma
UMJ NEWS Volume 2.30
This is a true story, the Chinese man was abused by African American.

In what passes for discussions on race these days, small problems are often blown up large, while real traumas are completely ignored. For instance, despite what President Clinton’s “Race Initiative” panel has said, the very rawest racial conflicts in present-day America don’t even fit into the tidy mold of white-majority-oppressing-colored-minority that activists constantly promote. Though civil rights groups and most of the media studiously ignore this fact, the nation’s most fractious racial battles are now conflicts between minority populations. Particularly horrific is the animosity directed at Asian Americans by blacks in low-income areas of urban America.

At age ten, I immigrated from China to Oakland, California, a city filled with crime, poverty, and racial tension. In elementary school, I didn’t wear name-brand clothing or speak English. My name soon became “Ching Chong,” “Chinagirl,” and “Chow Mein.” Other children laughed at my language, my culture, my ethnicity, and my race. I said nothing.

After a few years, I began to speak English, but not well enough to trade racial insults. On rides home from school I avoided the back of the bus so as not to be beaten up. But even when I sat in the front, fire crackers, paper balls, small rocks, and profanity were thrown at me and the other “stupid Chinamen.” The label “Chinamen” was dished out indiscriminately to Vietnamese, Koreans, and other Asians. When I looked around, I saw that the other “Chinamen” tuned out the insults by eagerly discussing movies, friends, and school.

During my secondary school years, racism, and then the combination of outrage and bitterness that it fosters, accompanied me home on the bus every day. My English was by now more fluent than that of those who insulted me, but most of the time I still said nothing to avoid being beaten up. In addition to everything else thrown at me, a few times a week I was the target of sexual remarks vulgar enough to make Howard Stern blush. When I did respond to the insults, I immediately faced physical threats or attacks, along with the embarrassing fact that the other “Chinamen” around me simply continued their quiet personal conversations without intervening. The reality was that those who cursed my race and ethnicity were far bigger in size than most of the Asian children who sat silently.

The racial harassment wasn’t limited to bus rides. It surfaced in my high school cafeteria, where a middle-aged Chinese vendor who spoke broken English was told by rowdy students each day at lunch time to “Hurry up, you dumb Ching!” On the sidewalks, black teenagers and adults would creep up behind 80-year-old Asians and frighten them with sing-song nonsense:

“Yee-ya, Ching-chong, ah-ee, un-yahhh!” At markets and in the streets of poor black neighborhoods, Asians would be told, “Why the hell don’t you just go back to where you came from!”

When it came time for college, I left this ugly world for a beautiful school far away. Finally, it was possible to pursue a life without racial harassment backed by the threat of violence. I chose not to return to my old neighborhood after college, but I am often reminded of the racial discrimination I endured there. On a bus not too long ago I saw a black woman curse at a Korean man, “You f---ing Chinese person! Didn’t you hear that I asked you to move yo’ ass? You too stupid to understand English or something?”

In poor neighborhoods across this country Asians endure daily racial hatred just as I did. Because of their language deficiencies, their small size, their fear of violent confrontations, they endure in silence. Unlike me, many of them will never depart for a new life in a beautiful place far, far away. So each day they grow more bitter against a group that much of America refuses to acknowledge to be capable of racism: African Americans.

In a fair and peaceful world, racial harassment will be decried without regard to its source. The problem today is that prominent black leaders rule out even the possibility of black racism. Activists like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson intone that racism equals “prejudice plus power,” and that since blacks in America lack power, they are simply not capable of practicing racism against anyone. John Hope Franklin, chair of President Clinton’s race panel, angrily insists that racism is something suffered, not dished out, by blacks. Many black professors, writers, polemicists, and politicians repeat the same mantra. What might appear to be black racism, writes syndicated columnist Leonard Pitts, actually boils down not to racism but to acts of crime and rudeness from the perpetrators, and tough luck for the recipients.

Rationalizers of black racism ignore the fact that identical actions inflicted by whites would be universally decried as intolerable. Ultimately, their arguments simply grease the skids for further traumatizing of “unlucky” victims. And to real-life casualties of racial animosity, motivation is not especially relevant. Loss is loss. Pain is pain.

Unfortunately, Asian Americans-and especially their leaders-have failed to speak out on this matter. Complaints from wounded individuals regularly boil into public view, however. In mid-August, I attended a crowded press conference held in New York’s Chinatown to discuss Indonesia’s history of discrimination against ethnic Chinese (which peaked this May in a wave of bloody anti-Chinese riots). One woman at the event began to hysterically scream out her frustrations over black American racism against Asians. The woman, Mee Ying Lin, shouted, “Chinese suffer from racial discrimination by blacks every day. We should help persecuted Chinese overseas, but why is no one dealing with our own troubles in America?”

Rose Tsai, head of the San Francisco Neighbors Association, and candidate for a seat on the city’s Board of Supervisors, suggests that everyday Asians rarely defend themselves against ghetto racism because “Asian culture is just not that confrontational.. Asians are unlike blacks who got to where they are in politics by being militant.”

Tsai explains that Asian involvement in politics is at a nascent stage, that it is difficult for her organization even to convince Asian immigrants to vote, let alone make a political stink against racial harassment. “Asians are just not used to standing up for our own rights,” says another Bay Area Chinese activist with frustration.

That might explain the quiescence of recent immigrants who speak imperfect English. But what about the growing cadre of Asian activists? They are far from passive or non-confrontational. In just the past two years, organizations like the Asian American Legal Defense Fund, the National Asian-Pacific American Legal Consortium, the Organization for Chinese Americans, and others have voiced loud condemnations of “racism” in American society. But they have focused on events like the recent investigation of Asian donors of illegal campaign funds, the Republican opposition in Congress to Bill Lann Lee’s nomination as director of the Office of Civil Rights, a cover drawing for National Review that showed the President, Vice President, and First Lady dressed in Manchurian garb, and even a recent cover photo for this magazine that showed a handsome Asian male scowling angrily at the camera.

If vocal Asian activists are able to work themselves into a frenzy attacking everyday political tussles and editorial cartoons for their alleged racist motivations, they are obviously capable of confrontation. Why then do we never hear these national activists condemning black racism against Asians in our inner cities?

Some Asian-American activists say the reason they have not confronted anti-Asian racism among blacks is because the tension does not exist on the national level, but is merely confined to some local areas. Karen Narasaki of the National Asian-Pacific American Legal Consortium claimed in a recent interview that black animosity is different in each city and ought to be handled differently in each case by local organizations. David Lee, executive director of one such local organization, the San Francisco Voters Education Committee, concurs: “There may be a few communities and a few areas where tensions exist-so it is better for community groups rather than a national organization like the Organization of Chinese Americans to deal with such problems.”

Representatives of national Asian organizations also cite resource constraints to explain their quiescence. They say black-Asian clashes are not a serious enough national issue to expend scarce time and money on.

There is a difference, however, between not being able to expend effort and not wanting to. Asian activists on the national level also matter-of-factly justify black racism in inner cities as a direct result of competition between Asians and their black neighbors over limited economic resources.

Narasaki, while acknowledging she is not an inner city expert, insists that many black and Asian conflicts “have to do with the lack of economic opportunities” in cities. Echoing this refrain, Stanley Mark, program director of the Asian American Legal Defense Fund, asserts that “we can’t talk about race without talking about economic disparities.”

In this vein, Asian activists consistently mention that racial problems occur when Asian merchants mo

By Galileo's Universe at 18:58 Sat 09 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

PART 2:

In this vein, Asian activists consistently mention that racial problems occur when Asian merchants move into predominantly black neighborhoods and flourish. The vicious year-long black boycott of a Korean store in Brooklyn in 1990, and the looting and burning of Korean stores in south-central Los Angeles during the 1992 Rodney King riots serve as shining examples of conflicts linked to economic disparities.

The excuse of economic disparities fails miserably to justify violence and harassment, however. For some observers, it also brings up memories of Nazi persecution of Jews, African attacks on Indian merchants, and recent murders, rapes, and robberies of ethnic Chinese in Indonesia. All of these atrocities were committed against people deemed economically well off by larger masses facing difficult times.

In any case, the economic disparities rationale falls apart in the many instances where racism flourishes in the absence of class differences.

At San Francisco’s Hunter’s Point public housing complex, for instance, low-income Southeast Asian residents, who are in the minority, have consistently encountered racial harassment from their black neighbors. Racial slurs, physical threats, violence, and destruction of property have festered for years. Philip Nguyen of the Southeast Asian Community Center, who has worked on the case for years, notes that there are no economic differences between the Asian and black families in the complex. The Asians, he says, are very quiet and have made every effort to befriend the black residents, yet serious friction has persisted for ten years.

Joe Hicks, executive director of the Los Angeles City Human Relations Commission, painstakingly tried to bring blacks and Asians together after the Rodney King riots. He believes that “much of the hostilities are due to blacks’ jealousy of Asian economic success, a sense of alienation, and the self-perpetuating belief that blacks will always lose out in the racial equation in America.” He adds that “certainly economics gives a basis to many of the problems,” but asserts that “even if tomorrow we can have a level playing field for both racial groups, we would still have animosity and racial strife” because prejudices would still remain.

Asian activists who are not otherwise inclined to ignore prejudice are often strangely anxious to apologize for black racism. In interviews, they note that Asians harbor many prejudices against blacks too. This explanation, however, has no power to explain the kind of harassment I and many others like me experienced as young immigrant children beginning life with no animus toward anyone.

Asian prejudice toward blacks surely exists. But whatever biases might be harbored in the minds of Asian immigrants, many of whom had never seen a black person before arriving in the U.S., they certainly don’t rate at the level of destroying black people’s property, scaring their elderly folk, or threatening and assaulting their children-the kinds of pressures Asians in many urban areas now endure routinely. Asian youths in particular typically start out with little or no inclination to distrust or dislike African Americans. Young Asians are usually far more willing than their parents to accept a new country and new friends, including black ones. In many cases, it was only after innumerable frightening chases, assaults, and humiliations that Asian attitudes toward blacks turned defensive. Those of us whose open minds were confronted with hostility and hatred will never accept the insulting assertion that our suffering resulted from our own prejudices.

It seems that leaders of the Organization of Chinese Americans, the Asian American Legal Defense Fund, and related groups are disconnected from the real concerns of many of the Asians they claim to represent. David Lee, whose Bay Area organization is attempting to promote local dialogue among minority journalists, believes that a fundamental disconnection exists between the national Asian spokesmen and the new majority of Asians who are recent immigrants. The prominent Asian civil rights leaders, he notes, tend to be American born, to speak little of their ethnic languages, and to be unable to read the local ethnic newspapers. Many of them do not know or understand the problems in low income areas, because they live comfortable middle-class lives. And so “it is not surprising that they are silent about black-on-Asian discrimination,” Lee summarizes.

Bong Hwan Kim, executive director of the Korean Youth and Community Center in Los Angeles and an active member of the Black-Korean Alliance that attempted to bring African- and Korean-Americans together in the eight years before the south-central riots, describes a disconnection in the Korean community between first-generation immigrants and acculturated second generation residents with less familiarity with inner-city life. After the shops of Koreatown were looted or burned, he reports, the more suburbanized Koreans pushed inter-ethnic bridge-building efforts, while the first-generation immigrants who toiled in menial jobs, bridled at having to sit across the table from those who looted and burned their property. Meanwhile, few of the prominent national Asian organizations even condemned the violence perpetrated against Koreans in L.A.

Stanley Mark of the Asian American Legal Defense Fund argues in defense of the national Asian organizations that people hear less from the Asian leaders about black-on-Asian racism than white-on-Asian racism simply because there is less of the former than the latter. Mark insists he knows of no case where an Asian was seriously hurt or killed by a racist black American.

Underlining the disconnect between national and local perceptions, Liu Yu-xi, an organizer of the New York coalition of Chinese Americans that mobilized hundreds of thousands of normally politically apathetic Chinese to protest Indonesian violence against Chinese residents, chuckled at Stanley Mark’s ignorance of cases of black racism. Liu, who has known of many racially motivated physical attacks against Chinese in New York, observes, “Such crimes are reported often in the local Chinese papers, but the national Asian activists obviously do not know how to read Chinese.”

When asked why prominent Asians have said little about racial harassment by African Americans, Bill Tam of San Francisco’s Chinese Family Alliance flatly stated, “I think they are afraid to say anything.” To him, it appears that Asian leaders are often fearful of the national black leadership. National Asian organizations generally follow the lead of black civil rights groups like the naacp so slavishly, another Bay Area activist told me, that even when the latter’s stances (for instance, on quotas and preferences) are opposed to the interests and beliefs of many Asian citizens, the Asian activists don’t challenge their allies.

Rose Tsai of the San Francisco Neighbors Association was a little more blunt: “Most Asian leaders do not wish to acknowledge that there exists a problem because they do not want the minorities to fight amongst themselves.” As a result, national Asian spokesmen speaking for their brethren are without any inkling of the real problems they face, or what kind of racism is dragging them down. Recognizing the complex issues between blacks and Asians, Philip Nguyen of the Southeast Asian Community Center has a simple proposal: “Fight, not against or for any group, but against racial discrimination.”

Ying Ma, who immigrated to the United States in 1985, is a research associate at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.

By Galileo's Universe at 19:17 Sat 09 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

I think it's common understanding by the public that Naomi Campbell is not looked at as a role model.

By KaWai at 19:40 Sun 10 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

This cover was done in bad taste. If I was Kate, I would have told them to give the cover to a black model.

By KaWai at 19:43 Sun 10 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

AT THE HEIGHT OF FASHION, BLACK MODELS

Published: June 13, 1987

Louise Vyent smiled from the cover of the February issue of Vogue. Two months earlier, Karen Alexander, another black model, appeared in profile on the cover of Elle magazine.

''Black models are starting to be used again,'' said Katie Ford, a vice president of Ford Models Inc. in Manhattan. Impelled by a group of newcomers, a renaissance is occurring for black models in the major women's fashion publications.

The first widespread use of black models occurred in the 1960's, in the wake of the civil rights movement. Black models were seen on the runways at fashion showings, too.

But then their popularity waned. ''In the early 70's black models were used a lot,'' Ms. Ford said. ''Then we went to a really low point.'' At that low point, only a handful of black models appeared regularly in magazines, among them Beverly Johnson and the Somalian model Iman.

Just why black models fell out of favor during the 70's is not entirely clear, though some said the 70's were a bad time for all models with dark hair or dark skin. Look of the 70's

''In the 70's, it was a problem to go beyond the blond-haired blue-eyed girl,'' said Frances Grill, vice president of Click Model Management. ''The beauty of the 70's was, by and large, very fair-complexioned, until Brooke Shields and Isabella Rossellini came along.''

Today, newcomers like Kirsti Bowser, Gail O'Neill, Veronica Webb, Ms. Vyent and Ms. Alexander are appearing in Glamour, Elle, Mademoiselle and Vogue magazines and in many high-fashion advertisements.

Ms. Alexander, who is 21 years old and has been modeling for five years, said she thinks things are better now, though far from wonderful.

''I've not gotten Lancome offers every day - maybe they think we don't use makeup,'' she said.

Iman and Beverly Johnson ''had it worse,'' she acknowledged.

''They made it much easier for me,'' she said. ''They made people wake up and see that there are black models out there and that they are beautiful.''

Lacey Ford, another vice president of the Ford agency, said ''the world has finally opened up to a broader definition of what's beautiful.''

Dee Simmons-Edelstein of Grace Del Marco Modeling, which specializes in black models, said, ''We're at a stage when we can no longer deny that there is a black consumer.''

And the desire to attract black consumers means that ''most advertisers budget a certain amount of their dollars to the black market and the Latin market,'' said Bill Weinberg of Wilhelmina Models Inc. And that means more work for models from ethnic minorities.

While they are happy that black models are used more often, some in the modeling industry are critical of the form the renewal has taken.

''Today's black models are 'safe,' '' said Bethann Hardison, president of Bethann Model Management. ''They have white features. They're acceptable to the white eye.''

Ms. Grill, too, said that the most successful black models ''have physical attributes more in line with a white model.''

But believing that there are features that belong strictly to either whites or blacks is unfair, too, said Ms. Alexander.

''Black comes in all shapes, sizes and colors,'' she said. ''Everyone said it was so great to see a black model on the cover of Glamour when I did a cover for them about a year ago. I think there's discrimination among the black models who think that there are such things as typical black features, and that everything else is not really black.''

Nikki Garth-Taylor, beauty editor of Essence magazine, said that with the exception of a few at the top, most black models earn the bulk of their income from work for billboards and magazine advertisements. That branch of the business is not considered as prestigious as modeling for editorial fashion layouts, although it is far more lucrative. A Narrow Range

Critics also said that the type of commercial modeling available to black models is limited. It is unlikely, Ms. Grill said, that a black model would be used in an ad for luxury cars, because ''black people are not thought of as affluent enough'' to afford such cars.

Ms. Garth-Taylor said the range of products black models are enlisted to endorse is narrow - limited, she said, to ''liquor, hair products and cigarettes.'' And blacks are used interchangeably with whites, Ms. Grill said, only if ''they're stars.''

At Mademoiselle, the models editor, Manuela Anzullag, estimated that the magazine has ''about five black models that we use - one or two in each issue.''

The determinant for the continued wide use of black models is how well the publications they appear in sell.

''It's all in the newsstands,'' said Monique Pillard, owner of Elite, a model agency. ''If there's a black on the cover and the circulation goes up, you better believe they're going to keep using more black girls.''

By KaWai at 23:45 Sun 10 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

Didn't anyone read bamia's excellent comments on this subject:

"What's all the fuss about? Why is it an issue that there are less black models than white ones? And what do white models give to the rest of the white female population that makes this such a grave injustice? Are black people really missing out? Or is this just an issue amongst white magazine readers? Or unimaginative fashion photographers who feel they need to pull 'issues' out their ass in the name of shameless self-promotion?

Since when did modeling become the most important gauge of racial representation? Modeling doesn't represent women so why is everyone surprised that it doesn't represent race too?

Models, to most people are of very little cultural significance. Most people don't even know who Gemma Ward is and she's considered a supermodel these days. There are plenty of black women in the public eye in arenas that are far more influential to people's lives than the fashion industry.

Why are people who work in fashion so ideologically limited that they can't see anything else in the world without the frame of fashion surrounding it?

Black women are totally over-represented in music. Should we start running a crusade for the lack of white female soul singers? Jews are over-represented in comedy? Should we start running a crusade in the name of getting more protestant baptists up on stage? Czech girls are over-represented in the sex industry. Does anyone see where this is going? Funny that, they're also over-represented in modeling. I wonder if there's a connection there...

I can't help but feel disappointed by the utter pointlessness of this debate. Fashion tirelessly promotes itself as exclusive and unattainable so why are people dumb enough to be shocked by its absence of social conscience? Fashion has never been about representing the demos. Fashion as an industry is inherently fascist as this is the only mode through which it can function commercially. What do black people have to gain by becoming objectified; a fate that they spent years struggling against anyway? Who knows, maybe it's a blessing for black girls that they have stronger role models to look up to, individuals who are celebrated for their talents, not women like Naomi Campbell."

By Karl Fuler at 11:35 Mon 11 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

I think what Iman and many frustrations the fashion industry people feel about racism is legitimate. If you hear and watch someone being told blatantly that they are being turned down for jobs because of their race, you would feel really angry. If I hear a Chinese model being told that she is turned down for the editorial of Vogue because she doesn't represent high class I would be very angry. It's not about the nature of fashion industry being fascist, it's some of the people in the industry who are racist, to think within such smallness, to think white women being more aspirational. "Black people are not viewed as aspirational...not representing our brand value...", a reason given to Nick Knight, if you were black, standing , being told this, how would you feel?

By KaWai at 16:54 Mon 11 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

That's why I think Naomi, Iman and some of the black and non white models need to band together and work with those who feel the same way to create a magazine that celebrate non white women in high style. We need to see variety, more points of views, more perspectives of portraying high fashion.

By KaWai at 03:23 Tue 12 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

I love seeing Vogue Nippon, Vogue India, Vogue China, and I look forward to see Vogue South Africa, or equivalent to the high style of Vogue magazines in the African nations in bookstores in the western countries, celebrating beauties of the women in their regions.

By KaWai at 03:25 Tue 12 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

It's a sledge-hammer of a film, Mr. Knight, but if it's what you felt you had to do so be it. I mean, Naomi Campbell blazing away with a pair of Uzis... memorable, I suppose.

Having scanned the rest of the comments here, I'd like to make one brief comment on race and fashion. Fashion is a reflection of society; unfortunately, race and discrimination are two problems far too complicated to be sorted out with a bit of affirmative action. If you really want to improve matters, you should be looking at the underlying social and economic causes, and not lobbying for more diversity on the runway. Think about Marx, base and superstructure.

And, to those nostalgic for the days of Yves Saint Laurent: yes, he used black models, but he used them because at the time they were exotic. That's not really any better, is it?

By Anjo at 05:14 Tue 12 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

fashion is a reflection of certain values in society, I suppose. And those values are sometimes disgusting.

By KaWai at 05:33 Tue 12 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

170 comments on this topic so far.Something has touched a raw nerve.

By la at 12:31 Tue 12 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MA8R81-TsiI&feature=related

Individuals such as Tyra Banks no longer wait for the fashion establishment to do something to change the perception, they are taking the issue into their own hands and producing shows and fashion websites to showcase more variety and points of view on beauty.

Italian Vogue special Black issue is over, now what?

By KaWai at 21:58 Tue 12 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

http://www.thefashionspot.com/forums/f96/chinese-models-65214.html
http://www.thefashionspot.com/forums/f96/favourite-top-african-black-models-63402.html
http://www.thefashionspot.com/forums/f78/vogue-italia-july-2008-liya-sessilee-jourdan-naomi-steven-meisel-69193.html

By KaWai at 22:23 Tue 12 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

KaWai, you have made your POINT very clear and we have had the opportunity to read and reflect on your personal comments ... and mind you, you have taken us on a grand tour around the world in the matters of the HIGH FASHION GLOSSY MAGAZINES and their state of affairs ... AND as a contributor in the forum phrased it yes 'WE GET IT ! ... and now I'm wondering whether the whole issue is becoming more of a 'PERSONAL CRUSADE' than just a dialogue and exchange of opinions and that somehow is intriguing to me personally because I'm sure there are plenty of people you are arguing for ( whom I assume) have followed the thread who can also speak for themselves ... so I'm thinking loud now ... what is the point of trying to turn the thread into a ... 'J'ACCUSE ' ? ??? when in fact none of us have the power or the influence to change things just the way you personally want to !

By Galileo's Universe at 23:18 Thu 14 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

i found this ;
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/story?id=5575436&page=1.
some of the comments show how the race topic seems to be much more polarised in the states.

By la at 00:22 Fri 15 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

without wanting to sound rude or personal Galileo's Universe ,don't you ever sleep?

By la at 01:14 Fri 15 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

THE INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE
By Yuri Kageyama The Associated Press
Published: August 28, 2007

TOKYO: Shampoo advertising in Japan typically featured glamorous blondes praising imports from Procter & Gamble and Unilever.

But ads for Tsubaki, the latest hit from a local cosmetics maker, Shiseido, feature famous Japanese women and an unusually direct slogan: "Japanese women are beautiful."

The message has struck a chord at a time when Japanese women are increasingly looking to role models in their own ranks, rather than stars from abroad, for definitions of their self worth. Advertisers are beginning to recognize that.

"Japanese women are starting to have confidence in themselves," said Yoko Kawashima of Itochu Fashion System, a marketing company.

For decades, beauty standards in Japan were dictated by the West, home to famous fashion houses like Christian Dior and Gucci, which remain extremely popular in Asia.

But now, young people are taking a different cue from Westerners and rediscovering sushi, manga animation, kimono and other elements of Japanese culture, said Kawashima, who has written a book about the success of Shiseido's branding strategy.

"Westerners are saying Japan is cool, and that view is winning acceptance in a kind of reverse import," she said. "Shiseido's advertising didn't even talk about the shampoo's features. Its message, that Japanese women on the go are beautiful, was more about a feeling."

Tsubaki (pronounced tsooh-bah-key) emerged No. 1 in shampoo sale rankings by business daily The Nikkei, a victory for the Tokyo-based company used to trailing Unilever, P&G and the Japanese rival Kao.

The shampoo has chalked up ¥18 billion, or $155 million, in sales of 43 million bottles during its first year. Shiseido has no U.S. or European sales plans for Tsubaki.

Shiseido pumped ¥5 billion into marketing and hired a dizzying array of Japanese faces to push Tsubaki. TV, magazine and billboard ads feature models, actresses and a figure skater. It hired a popular vocal group to perform an original song, singing the praises of Japanese women; the song became a hit.

"Our message really appealed to Japanese women, who are starting to awaken to a sense of self-confidence," said Hiroyuki Ishikawa, who oversees hair care at Shiseido. "Up to now, Japanese women haven't generally been chosen as global symbols of beauty."

Shiseido's campaign also introduced brand loyalty, which in Japan has not been linked to commodity products like shampoo and detergent, said Kazuo Ikegami, business administration professor at Rissho University in Tokyo.

"Shiseido has totally changed the shampoo market," Ikegami said. "Tsubaki has become more like a Louis Vuitton bag."

The Tsubaki story reflects broader societal changes in Japan, and some say future marketing will choose images that are even closer to home.

Kaori Sasaki, who heads a communication consulting company, said Japanese businesses long viewed female consumers in three oversimplified categories - the housewife, office worker and schoolgirl.

But that formula is rapidly growing obsolete as more women pursue ambitious careers and more mothers join the work force, she said.

"Marketing is changing to reflect a changing lifestyle," Sasaki said. She noted a recent TV commercial for detergent that depicts a man doing the wash - something once virtually unthinkable in male-dominated Japan.

Meanwhile, other shampoo makers are also featuring Japanese stars.

Departing with past marketing featuring Western beauties, P&G hired a Japanese actress to introduce H&S, a new shampoo developed for Japan, based on Head & Shoulders, which goes on sale Saturday.

Japan is an important market because the Japanese use more shampoo than other nationalities, washing their hair an average of 6.4 times a week compared to Americans at 4.4 times, according to P&G.

Tsubaki's success came on the heels of Kao's success with its Asience shampoo, whose TV ads starred Zhang Ziyi, a Chinese Hollywood actress, showing off her long black hair to the jealous gasps of Western women.

Sakura Ikeda, 31, an artist who makes miniature animals, is sold on Tsubaki.

"It makes my hair soft and moist," she said. "The ads have a groundbreaking feeling with all the women lined up with their hair swaying."

But the potency of Tsubaki's message to Japanese consumers may be hard for outsiders to grasp, even for experts.

"It's funny to me how traditional and formulaic it seems," said Bob Dorfman, executive creative director of Pickett Advertising in San Francisco. "You could run it in the U.S., and it would hardly stand out - attractive, young women shaking their lustrous hair, to the tune of a hip and energetic music track by a hot young band."

Dorfman sees as innovative Unilever's Dove ads in the United States, which show women of all shapes and sizes to emphasize self-esteem and empowerment and celebrate the individual rather than manufactured beauty.

"By my American standards, there's nothing at all unique or new about this," he said of Tsubaki's ads. "Obviously, I'm missing the Japanese subtleties."

By Galileo's Universe at 08:42 Sat 16 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

Nick, can we have a SHOWstudio project documenting a meeting between GU and KW..? Surely they have earned it! This is a love on the scale of Sartre and Beauvoir or Gainsbourg and Birkin. It's beautiful thing. (I'm not joking)

By Brooke Taylor at 04:02 Thu 21 Aug 2008 | reply to this >

Well I also think that there are still a lack go Male models as well. Ever since Tyson Beckford retired from the industry we have had no male models of color to achieve any real heights.

It is alos sad that the industries answer to the model problem is to use only Naomi when they have to answer for a cover drought.

By david46208 at 23:30 Wed 03 Sep 2008 | reply to this >