It was only the other night when I was reading the latest issue of British Vogue that I came across the Valentino Spring/Summer 2016 campaign. I love how Valentino are trying to run away from the racial diversity problems they forced onto themselves last season, casting predominantly Caucasian models despite producing a collection solely ‘inspired by Africa’. They 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 countries to fit in with Valentino’s seemingly profane aesthetic. And now for their campaign they have decided to shoot an array of white models in African-inspired garments whilst surrounded by a Kenyan tribe, what’s the logic behind that? I think it’s exceedingly important that brands should stop adopting a blind-eye to the issue in hand and start taking responsibility for the severe nature of this problem.
However, this is not all: a couple of years ago, London-born black model Jourdan Dunn spoke out about the racism she experienced when working backstage at some shows during fashion week. She said that she was turned away from model castings because the client didn't want 'anymore black models' and also she described the time when a white makeup artist said she didn't want to work on her face because she was black - this was not because of the makeup artist's lack of skills, it was a blatant example of racism. Despite working in an industry which we can now say is struggling to fight against diversity injustices, Jourdan Dunn is recognized as a pioneer or inspiration to the emerging models of colour to come into the industry like Malaika Firth and Neelam Gill, for example. Jourdan was the first black model to walk for Prada in over a decade and also featured on the cover of Vogue Italia's iconic All Black Issue shot by Steven Meisel. Now, she has joined forces with industry legends such as Naomi Campbell, Iman and Bethann Hardison (fashion activist) to campaign against the lack of balanced diversity in fashion and that is exactly what we need to propel this industry out of this hole.
In recent months, another issue relating to diversity has been made prominent, this time involving the film industry. It began when the Academy Award's nominations were released revealing that not a single black actor was nominated in any of the categories this year. Interestingly, in the history of the Oscars, only 31 out of more than 2900 Oscars awarded have gone to black winners. That's a staggering statistic!
The only year where black actors took dominance was 2013 when the Academy awarded 12 Years A Slave Best Picture with Lupita Nyong'o taking the statuette for Best Supporting Actress. However, since then we have seen a decrease in mixed background recognition and that's a shame.
Lupita Nyong'o at the Academy Awards 2013
As renowned fashion photographer Nick Knight once said, "To find a solution we need to see that there is a problem. The business people who ultimately control fashion (and art industries) have a moral responsibility that they must not ignore. Profit cannot be a justification for bigotry and racism."
I think we must continue to encourage the use of minorities within the creative industries; this is the only way we will conquer the face of discrimination. So, it's my opinion that if we keep voicing our concerns and present an even-handed awareness of the issues, the industries will start taking drastic action and fight seriously this iniquitous injustice.
Please note: I do not own any of these images.
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