The reality of color on the runway

People turn on the television and see Tyra Banks holding court as one of the most famous models in the world. They watch Beyonce shimmy her way through commercials for Armani Diamonds. They flip open a magazine and see supermodels like Iman and celebrities like Queen Latifah posing in ads for various cosmetics lines.
But the reality of the fashion world is that very few black models are seen on the runways or in fashion photo spreads in the major fashion magazines.
The subject has been a hot topic of discussion for several seasons now during Fashion Week, especially among the small group of black fashion editors covering the shows.
It came up most recently last month during the Spring 2008 collections at New York Fashion Week which frames our coverage in today's On The Run section in the Asbury Park Press (www.app.com)
Diane von Furstenberg and Ports 1961 both used nine black models in their shows (out of about 40 for von Furstenberg, 30 for Ports). That was news, big news in the tents. It's not unusual to see shows that have only white models. Most shows only use one or two models of color (usually Asian and/or black).
Some writers called the unusually large number of black models in the von Furstenberg and Ports 1961 shows a gimmick. After all, the only other time you usually see that many black models is if the designer is black a la Tracy Reese or the label skews urban like Baby Phat.
Gimmick or a move forward, there are only a small number of models who are seen everywhere. The two we see most often are:

Chanel Iman, one of the hottest models of color on the scene right now.


and Liya, who shares the title of hottest model of color on the scene right now.


















Others we see a lot are:

Alek


Hye


Ajuma



Du Juan



Jaunel


Han


Jourdan



Kinee




In the past few weeks, articles in Women's Wear Daily, the Washington Post and the New York Times have focused on the subject. In one story, designer Vivienne Westwood also blamed editors of prominent fashion magazines for not using a diverse selection of models for spreads.
Personally, I think Westwood makes a good point. Editors - of magazines and newspapers - do have a responsibility to consider diversity when selecting models and images. Consider the impact if an editor like Anna Wintour were to take a stand on this issue. But designers and casting agents also share the responsibility.
"Everyone is pointing fingers. The bottomline is that what's in vogue right now is a certain look - models from Russia and Eastern European countries. Designers want a look (in a model) that doesn't stand out,"" says Roy Campbell, an advisor and occasional judge for "America's Next Top Model." Campbell is a former fashion editor for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Campbell says he doesn't think designers are overtly racist. It's just not a big issue for them.
"I remember I once had a talk with a very well known designer who had gotten complaints about not having any black models in her shows and she said to me, 'I don't see color.' She just didn't think about it," Campbell says. "I think that's the case with a lot of the designers. They just don't think about it."