Racial Diversity On The Runway

What do we mean by 'diversity'? Owing to the fact that one of the most crucial movements in fashion is diversity, one would think it was a good sign that the current trend for Spring/Summer 2016 is 'diversity'. However this is not just diversity through model castings; this is diversity shown through shapes and silhouettes. With Olivier Rousteing at Balmain celebrating curves and the Paris Fashion Week Board officially banning super-skinny models, it seems like there has been rather a re-definition of the word. Perhaps this is a cunning diversion away from the serious issue of ethnic diversity that the industry fails to take responsibility for at present.

According to The Business of Fashion's Spring/Summer 2016 diversity report, an astonishing 79% of runway models used this season were white. Why not more models of colour?
Designers such as Victoria Beckham and Francisco Costa at Calvin Klein have been criticised season after season for casting an array of very angry super-skinny looking models, and even more surprisingly they are all white. Probably the most disparagement went to the house of Valentino. Despite producing a collection solely inspired by Africa, Valentino made use of entirely white models in cornrows and tribalized prints, showing an intense lack of respect towards the African communities and instead generalising their country to fit in with Valentino's now seemingly profane aesthetic.

Saying this, there are a minority of designers who are encouraging the influx of more diverse model selections. For example: Tom Ford, Riccardo Tisci and Christopher Bailey for Burberry. Supermodels such as Naomi Campbell, Iman and Jourdan Dunn have all been campaigning on the issue and thanks to them, in recent years, we have seen a fairly modest surge in racial diversity across the industry.

Jourdan Dunn and Naomi Campbell for Burberry

I believe that it is vital that the industry does not dismiss the austere nature of this problem. As much as we continue to encourage the use of other minorities throughout the industry, it still does not seem to conquer the face of discrimination from employers. In my opinion, I think that if we continue to voice our opinions perhaps the fashion industry will stop turning a blind-eye to the real problems and face the situation head-on.  

Picture Courtesy: www.Dazeddigital.com  & www.style.com