Yesterday, the
New York Times ran an astute piece about the lack of diversity among fashion models. Despite the fact that 30 percent of Americans are non-white, and although African American women in the U.S. spend more than $20 billion on apparel each year, ethnic faces have been few and far between on the runways of New York, London, Paris, and Milan; they are even more noticeably absent in magazine fashion editorials.
Jezebel.com took a thorough look at the October issues of nine of the largest American women's fashion/service magazines, and found that that black models are far more common in advertisements than fashion editorials; their report is quite alarming:
Black Models In Advertisements, October 2007:
Marie Claire: 10, 1 of whom is a celebrity: Walgreens (3), Olay (1), Johnson's Soft Lotion (1), Diesel (1), CoverGirl (1), Puma (2), JCPenney (1).
W: 3, 1 of whom is a celebrity: Target (1), L'Oreal (1), Turks & Caicos tourism board (1).
Vogue: 6, 4 of whom are celebrities: Revlon (1), American Express (1), Diesel (1), JCPenney (1), Vaseline (1), Avon (1).
Harper's Bazaar: 2, 1 of whom is a celebrity: Make-A-Wish Foundation (1), CoverGirl (1).
Glamour: 3, none of whom are celebrities : Aquafresh White Trays (1), Liz Clairborne (1), Lee Jeans (1).
Cosmopolitan: 0.
Allure: 8, 4 of whom are celebrities: Diesel (1), Revlon (1), Sephora (1), L'Oreal (1), Revlon (1), Aquafresh White Trays (1), CoverGirl (1), Olay (1),
Lucky: 9, 4 of whom are celebrities: CoverGirl (1), Target (1), American Express (1), MAC Cosmetics (1), Dillard's (1), Puma (2), Sephora (1), Avon (1)
Elle: 13, 3 of whom are celebrities: Target (1), MAC Cosmetics (1), Diesel (1), Puma (2), Benetton (1), Avon Foundation (1), House of Dereon (4), Secret (1), Botox (1).
Black Models In Fashion Editorial, October 2007:
Marie Claire: 1, starring solo in a 6-page fashion editorial
W: 1, appearing on 1 page of a 20-page fashion editorial
Vogue: 0
Harper's Bazaar: 0
Glamour: 0
Cosmopolitan: 0
Allure: 0
Lucky: 0
Elle: 0
In the wake of New York fashion week, fashion photographer and ANTM judge Nigel Barker was reported as saying, "Everyone is always talking about the weight issue, I think they should be talking about race."
To read Guy Trebay’s New York Times article,
click here. For Jezebel.com’s insightful commentary, follow
this link.
Y’all know what an ANTM fanatic I am – so you can imagine how star- and dumbstruck I was to be breathing the same air as Nigel. I momentarily lost my ability to speak. But then my adrenaline kicked in, and I managed to squeak out a request for a photo – to which he happily obliged.
On last night's finale of America's Next Top Model, I noticed that the makeup artists at the Qi Gang runway show were using the Beautyblender sponge. To read my review, click here.
Did you catch the makeover episode of ANTM last night? If not, fret not. The CW website's got you covered.
