Amazing ! that with such ' FEARFUL' and PASSIONATE discussion about this interesting subject in the past NO ONE has volunteer to answers your FAIR and very interesting QUESTION ! .... I dare to imagine that Brazil is not high in the agenda in such matters ........ but I wonder how the responses would had been if we were talking about AMERICA and EUROPE .... that might SURELY wake up everyone from their BEAUTY SLEEP to tell us about the ' WONDERFUL ' NEWS ...LOL!

When I read the topic, I was thinking about how I would look at it now some time has past, Brazil has a large African population, and the quota would help elevate the interest in using black models, I am more interested in hearing from members who are living in Brazil, what they think about the issue. As for the US, since I live there, I do notice now there are significantly more black models featured in Vogue, it's really the post Obama affects. I think the Obama affects could also have affects on the demands for black models in Europe and South America. Obama is breaking stereo type and perception.

PIC:REF: www.chinadaily.com.cn/.../ 24/content_598802.htm

REF:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8063239.stm

Brazilian prosecutors and organisers of Sao Paulo Fashion Week have reached a deal over claims that too few black and mixed-race models are taking part.
Under its terms, fashion brands must ensure that 10% of the models are of African or Indigenous descent.

Last year, an investigation concluded eight of 344 the models taking part in the event were black - just 2.3%.

If the organisers fail to meet the new target they could face the prospect of being fined more than $120,000

Sao Paulo Fashion Week, being held in June, attracts worldwide attention.
But when the Brazilian newspaper, Folha de Sao Paulo, drew attention to the fact that few black models were used, the legal authority responsible for looking after the public interest opened an investigation.

EASIER TO WORK ABROAD

Brazil has more people of African descent than anywhere outside Africa itself.
Almost half of the population is said to be black or of mixed race.

But black Brazilian models say it has often been easier to get work abroad than in their own country.

It is a sensitive time for the issue of racial quotas in Brazil. While there has been little visible sign of tension over race, people of African heritage make up the poorest section of society.

An attempt to create a national law to establish quotas to address this inequality has once again been delayed in the Brazilian Congress, because of a failure to reach a consensus.

Some legislators are arguing that the best way to tackle inequality would be to use social rather than racial criteria in setting targets.

Last year’s Sao Paulo Fashion Week was marred when an investigation revealed a terrible lack of black and mixed-race models sashaying on the runway. Though nearly half of Brazil’s population is said to be black or of mixed race, only eight of the 344 models at last year’s event were black.

With threats by authorities to shut down this year’s event, offaicls and organizers reached an agreement:

Under its terms, fashion brands must ensure that 10% of the models are of African or Indigenous descent…

Companies failing to meet the new target could face the prospect of being fined more than $120,000…

While there has been little visible sign of tension over race, people of African heritage make up the poorest section of society.

An attempt to create a national law to establish quotas to address this inequality has once again been delayed in the Brazilian Congress, because of a failure to reach a consensus.

Some legislators are arguing that the best way to tackle inequality would be to use social rather than racial criteria in setting targets.

As the BBC News reported last year, some Afro-Brazilian models are upset at the apparent racism in their country’s fashion industry. "In a fashion show it is practically impossible," attest one model.

_________________________

REF:ttp://ourlatinamerica.blogspot.com/2009_05_17_archive.html

SAO PAULO (AP) — Organizers of Sao Paulo Fashion Week have promised to take steps to try to make sure that at least 10 percent of the models walking the runways will be blacks or Indians.

State prosecutors say they struck a deal with the event’s organizers calling for proof that they will attempt to convince designers taking part to promote racial inclusion.

Noncompliance by organizers could result in a fine of as much as 250,000 reals ($125,000) in a nation where nearly 50 percent of the population is black and there is a large Indian minority.

Prosecutor Deborah Kelly Affonso said the deal announced Thursday with Luminosidade Marketing & Producoes followed a state investigation. It stemmed from complaints the event recently had fewer black models.

i find the whole idea of a 'black quota' really racist, and demeaning to the models. It is literally having people included as the 'token' examples of diversity. At the same time, the sad truth is that fashion IS discriminatory. It is sexist, racist, age-ist, size-ist, elitist - by it's very nature it's non-inclusive. You're IN or you're OUT, and frankly it's usually about 90% of people being OUT to make the 10% who are IN feel even more smug and superior about it. With that in mind, I'd like to see what happened if they tried to instigate this kind of legislation in a 'proper' fashion week like Paris or (god help us, the whiter-than-white) Milan. Frankly Sao Paulo does this line of stuff to drum up interest, at least to a degree I reckon.

I agree that this is racist and a furthering of mascotism.
The right person for the job, any job, is the right person for the job regardless of race, nationality or creed.

I agree - who would want to be chosen just to fill a quota. I wouldn't want to be hired as a model to fill the ugly,spotty and balding quota either. The public gets what the public wants

I was thinking some more about this:
Generally, what we think of as the fashion industry is a white, european invention and has developed with european culture for the last few hundred years. The whole imagery of fashion is so tied up with european art over this time.
Photography and the more technical side of fashion is a very white european thing.
bearing this in mind, it's not surprising to find fashion imagery is predominantly white. This will obviously change over time. Fashion is not democratically elected to represent our community, and I'm not going to protest for more white people to be employed in the hiphop industry.