Does Jourdan Dunn's Vogue Cover Solve Fashion's Race Problem?

When Jourdan Dunn made headlines earlier this month for being the first sole black woman to feature on a British ‘Vogue’ cover in 12 years there was much abuzz in the fashion industry since the last black model to cover Vogue U.K. solo was Naomi Campbell in August 2002. Dunn is arguably the most popular British model today, along with pal Cara Delevingne, and was among the top-searched models on Google in 2014. However while Dunn's landing of the cover is a much deserved win for her and Vogue ended its shameful run of homogenous cover models its hardly a Fashion forward moment for models of color and hardly something to celebrate.

The conversation about racial diversity in fashion is a large and complex one. The lack of diversity and racial insensitivity is something everyone is familiar with and the problem with race goes far beyond just fashion magazine covers. From designer John Galliano's anti-Semitic tirade to Vogue Italia's reference to "slave earrings", from the ELLE France gaffe, Dolce & Gabbana's mammy-esque designs, and the blackface scandal with Numéro magazine the fashion world has often been at the sharp end of the race debate. For years, the business declined to use non-white models in its ads and runway shows. The rise of black supermodels like Naomi Campbell and Tyra Banks in the 1980s was supposed to have put an end to the unbearable whiteness of fashion but today models of color still face low odds of being hired in the fashion industry and things have gotten even worse.

In 2013 an article entitled "Fashion's Blind Spot" by NYT Editor Eric Wilson explored the blatant whitewashing of fashion runways, ads and companies, which ultimately begged the question of why the industry didn’t recognize it has a race problem? Wilson made a strong argument that despite efforts to combat the issue, the industry was still in denial and nothing had changed. Joining Wilson in that sentiment were Supermodel Chanel Iman and Bethann Hardison, a former model and modeling agency owner (who helped launch the career of Naomi Campbell) who both took a step forward to inject change through Boycotting, Shaming And Black Twitter in that year. Hardison has been known to fight against race discrimination in the fashion industry. In 2007, she organized a campaign against the issue which was supported by several of the world's black supermodels, including Naomi Campbell, Somalian-born Iman, and male model Tyson Beckford.

Individual models like Chanel Iman have spoken up about their struggles to get hired. Iman has been very candid in her admission about her experience dealing with racism within the fashion industry. In a 2013 Sunday Times Article when asked whether race is truly an issue in the industry she is quoted as saying "A few times I got excused by designers who told me ‘we already found one black girl. We don’t need you anymore.’ I felt very discouraged. When someone tells you, ‘we don’t want you because we already have one of your kind, it’s really sad."

Jourdan Dunn also commented on the difficulty of being a model of color in an interview with Vogue. “It’s hard being a model regardless, and then being a black model. I have heard, ‘Oh, we haven’t shown any black models this season.’ So blasé… It’s messed up,” she states. Naomi Campbell, recently she revealed that the Editor of an Australian fashion magazine was sacked after putting her on its front cover. Campbell, who does not name the journalist in question has also never been afraid to speak out about racism in the fashion business. In 2009, she alleged that major companies were refusing to use non-white women to promote their products.

Fashion industry heavyweights like Vogue Italia editor-in-chief Franca Sozzani and photographer Steven Meisel, who support and encourage diversity are known to have been met with roadblocks. Sozzani's “The Black Issue” for Vogue Italia has been around since 2008. Inspired by Barack Obama's campaign and the lack of diversity on the runways she enlisted Photographer Steven Meisel who was equally frustrated by the industry's rejection of black models for quite some time. The magazine celebrated models of color from the past and present and sold out in the United States and Great Britain within 72 hours. While the issue was a phenomenal success it has been accused of being “Racism wrapped in the comfort blanket of Fashion”.

When it comes to facts and figures every year, Jezebel tallies up the race of the models who are featured in New York’s Fashion Week. In 2014 of 4,621 looks, only 985 were worn by models of color. Implying that of all the models who walked, 78.69% of them were white. While that number is slightly smaller than last season, it still hovers around 80 percent, which has been roughly the percentage of looks worn by white models for the past six seasons. While the New York Fashion Week fall/Winter 2014 might have brought fresh styles, but the faces weren't anything new. However, Designers that had more racial diversity included 3.1 Phillip Lim, Anna Sui, Badgley Mischka, Costello Tagliapietra, Diane von Furstenberg, J. Crew, Jason Wu, Jeremy Scott, Jonathan Simkhai, Mara Hoffman, Naeem Khan, Nicole Miller, Rebecca Taylor, Suno, Tracy Reese, Yeohlee, and Zac Posen.

Interestingly in another recent study of diversity #LoveFMD magazine found that Western models were more often used than Asians in their analysis of global women’s Magazines in Asia. The article boldly takes on the issue of race and diversity by pointing out that even the “Diversity Coalition,” set Asian models apart from other models of color. "Do Asian models not count as racially diverse enough? The belief that Asians are not actually people of color, or are a “sort of white” is racism because it denies anti-Asian racism, which has a long and continuing history in fashion. Asian models are grossly underrepresented and this is not only visible in our study, but is also indicated by the fashion history." It argues.

In a recent article for The Business of Fashion, Journalist Jason Campbell pointed out that the fashion industry is still plagued by a troubling lack of diversity and racial sensitivity and too little is being done about it. Campbell directs his attention to "Vogue Italia's 'Vogue Black' Section which segregates black street style images in a section of its 'Black Blog' called 'Vogueista Black,'. According to him segregation for the sake of segregation doesn't do anything but further the divide. "True diversity comes when differences are not defined by color. It’s not to say that we’re not proud of our differences. Variety is most definitely the spice of life, but let’s see it on the same page." Campbell compares the matter to racial segregation and says it is in opposition to the Diversity Coalition, headed by Bethann Hardison, Naomi Campbell and Iman. He suggests that such editorial decisions are made by teams "largely composed of white people and there is zero initiative to change the status quo."

In response to Campbell, Sozzani was quick to clarify that in the fight to tackle racism in the industry 'Vogue Black' is in fact in honor of black people, not the reverse. She is supported in by both Hardison and Naomi Campbell. Whether or not it is really racist, or a matter of mere misinterpretation is something debatable.

But evidence of ongoing Racism does not end there, earlier this week Russian Socialite Miroslava Duma, was at the center of a racism row after she published an image on her website Buro 24/7 of Dasha Zhukova Russian fashion designer and the editor-in-chief of new bi-annual art and fashion magazine Garage, sitting on a chair made from the mannequin of a black woman. The images sparked backlash due to nature of its content; Ms Zhukova posing on a chair made from a half-naked mannequin of a black woman (a white woman sitting very literally on the back of a black woman). Miroslava Duma and Zhukova herself have since apologized however just because it’s art doesn’t mean it isn’t racist sexist objectification of women.

While diverse faces on covers can make an impact on the millions of people putting a model of color on the cover of a magazine is not a change moment for models of color. So how do you solve fashion's racial diversity problem? The answer lies partly in the efforts of Bethann Hardison, Naomi Campbell and Iman who demand a variety of ethnicities in the same line-up, which reflects the diversity of beauty that exists on this planet and also in the point that #LOVEFMD magazine clearly makes. There needs to be racial and ethnic diversity on all fronts of the industry (not just models of color but also Asian models) from the runways, to the brands, to the designers as well as the photographers.

The Fashion world may have gotten more racially diverse and while legendary models like Naomi Campbell and Chanel Iman continue to land major campaigns and newer models like Jourdan Dunn are making headlines for their outspokenness on the issue, there's also a lot of evidence suggesting that racial issues still persist, and are far from being resolved. Edward Enninful, W magazine's style director, once told the Huffington post that patience is a virtue. “Change always takes time," he said. "The fashion industry needs to breed a whole different way of thinking. We need more diverse people working in all facets of the industry.” Perhaps Enninful was right when he spoke of Patience but nevertheless, it looks like the fight for racial acceptance rages on.



By
Clinton