Posts tagged preen

New York's Fashion week for 2010, featuring mostly fall looks, features less ethnically diverse casts of models than in previous words. Are we in the fashion world backpedaling? Why are designers, who set the standards for beauty across the word using exclusively, or a majority all white cast when choosing models for their designs? 

This is not exactly a new trend. Magazines have been cited as another prime culprit of lack of racial diversity in the fashion world. Fashion print shots, and the highest paid models are predominantly white. Are minorities being intentionally excluded from the fashion world, or is this just an oversight on the part of the designers (or a tendency to keep a consistent look among models?) 

Intentional or not, there are hard figures to support the idea that the fashion industry has a predominantly white face, especially in North America and Europe. During New York's fashion week of 2010, a full 85% of all models cast were white. The next largest majority were Black models, at only 8%. Asians created the next segment, at 6%, with Latinas at 1%, and other or mixed races barely even on the register. The result is a hugely skewed model of the lack of diversity within the fashion world. 

Some designers, such as A Detacher, Alice + Olivia, and Preen had no models of color at all. The rest used very few ethnically diverse casts. Some designers used only one non-Caucasian model, including brands like Calvin Klein and Diesel. 

There have definitely been efforts in the past to reform the fashion industry. From everything from regulating BMI and trying to reduce cases of Anorexia in Models, to fighting the whitewashing of the industry, some fashion activists are trying to make themselves heard.  

Perhaps activists are being actively ignored. In 2007, there was a full 20% non-Caucasion modeling cast at New York fashion week. Designers have even started speaking out against models that are bigger than the sample size (0). Is there a war going on between designers, and people who work in the fashion industry? In the effort to find the ideal from to show clothing, have fashion designers stepped over the line? 

We'd love to hear your comments. What do you think about the overwhelming majority of white women in the modeling world? What can we do to bring in some diversity? How can we convince designers that we're tired of seeing the same old unattainable looks?

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