Sigh.
The race issue in the fashion industry just gets more and more complicated!
And the latest news in that realm is fairly difficult to decipher!
It involves Vogue Italia’s editor, a journalist accusing her of racism, and her response that includes defense from both Naomi Campbell and Bethann Hardison.
Here’s the basic rundown:
Back in 2010, Vogue Italia started a blog that focused specifically on people of color. The blog was called “Vogue Black”. A portion of the blog is dedicated to “Voguistas black Pitti”, and consists of street style photos of African American people outside Florence’s Pitti Uomo menswear shows.
A Business of Fashion journalist named Jason Campbell took note of the segregated structure of the blog, and wrote a scathing article condemning the move — saying it was the internet version of “separate but equal” — the day before Vogue Italia editor Franca Sozzani├óΓé¼Γäós birthday.
Franca Sozzani caught wind of the article and wrote a fiery response, in which she basically calls Jason Campbell out for not researching before publishing his criticism. She claims the blog is part of a years-long effort to stop racism in fashion.
Then Franca quotes Naomi Campell├óΓé¼Γäós defense of her — in which Naomi says that any racist allegations towards Franca are ├óΓé¼┼ôabsurd├óΓé¼┬¥ since she helped out with the Diversity Coalition and has been fighting for more diversity in the industry for years.
Franca then also cites Bethann Hardison, another founder of the Diversity Coalition who lived through real segregation in the South. Bethann goes as far as to say Jason├óΓé¼Γäós comparisons between Vogue Black and segregation are actually ├óΓé¼┼ôoffensive├óΓé¼┬¥ because they’re so unrelated.
Makes your head spin, no??
For the full stories, click HERE to read Jason’s article and HERE to read Franca’s response!