As we all know, discrimination has been a historically long-winded battle that’s still being fought today.
Amongst countless others, Miss America had to face it, Oprah Winfrey experienced it, and now the mostly white runways of fashion week have come under major scrutiny for their lack of diversity (see above pic).
Luckily the fight to end racism in the fashion world has some of the seksiest models ever as spokespeople: Naomi Campbell and Iman!
The two icons have joined forces with former model agent Bethann Hardison to form the Diversity Coalition, in hopes of raising awareness about the issues.
Iman made an accurate statement on the matter, saying:
“The absence of people of color on the runways and photography reinforces to our young girls that they’re not beautiful enough, that they’re not acceptable enough. The diversity that we live in, the world that we live in, is not what is shown on the runway. That to me is the concern. It’s a bigger issue at large than just about runway and models.”
As part of their campaign for change, the trio have written letters to fashion councils, which featues a list of labels who “consistently use one or no models of color” in their presentations.
Some of the designers mentioned include fashion heavyweights like Victoria Beckham, Calvin Klein, Rodarte, Marc Jacobs and Donna Karan. The letter states “no matter the intention, the result is racism.”
Iman puts part of the blame is on casting directors, saying:
“I don’t want to ever hear again a young model telling me that [casting directors] have said to her: ‘We are not seeing black models this season.’ To me that’s offensive. To me that’s a racist remark.”
Now that Iman, Naomi and Bethann have opened up a dialog about racism in the industry, they’ll continue to talk about it until a they see a real change, not just a temporary one. Miz Campbell adds:
“We don’t want this to be a trend. We want this to last.”
If anyone can do it, it’s these three influential ladies!
[Image via WENN.]
