Whitewashing in Fashion Industry: Where Have the Black Models Gone?

Ever felt, why there was a relative absence of black fashion models in the recent fashion week? No doubt, it’s true that the cut throat competition brews in between the model agencies for searching for the most glamorous fashion models, with the best of poses, head shots and beauty. But with innumerable white models, walking down the ramp, it’s definitely getting difficult for black women to mark their advent, unlike as they did during the late seventies.

So, does race play a pivotal role in deciding the career prospects of this tempting fashion industry? Are the days of black celebrities like Naomi Campbell, Liya Kebede and Donyale Luna, finally over? Sadly, these questions reveal some hard and bitter truths. On one hand, black fashion wear might have appeared as a style statement, but sadly on the other hand, the entire fashion bustle is perhaps undergoing a complete white wash. Long back, Ms Mendoza happened to be the first black woman to be crowned as Ms Columbia in 2002. But no other black woman could repeat history again.

Earlier, the black fashion models used to grace the cover of more than hundreds of magazines like Haper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan and Vogue. Fashion models like Waris Dirie, had even modeled for Express jeans and Chanel. Along with the top model agencies, even the advertising giants like Tommy Hilfiger and Abercrombie & Fitch hired these black models. Several international fashion magazines, fashion model portfolios, commercials and catwalks featured the budding black models that had literally set the bestowed platforms on fire, with their cuts, curves and figures.

But nowadays, the so-called universal fashion models agency poses challenging situations for the black women. The number of black women chosen by the glamorous model agency has dramatically decreased. Now, even the fashion aficionados rejoice upon seeing a black face in the fashion magazine. So is it deliberate discrimination or not? No doubt, around twelve percent of the world population includes black people, but are these statistics enough to confront the selection of the models in any international model agency? Perhaps not!

Earlier when fashion commenced into an industrial platform, it started with the selling of clothes and creating vigor, dash and genre for fashion hunters. But now, it has drooped to the business of selling beauty. Somehow, the international designers feel that black women cannot portray the stereotyped image of beauty. Sadly, they don't realise that their expensive attires are also worn by these black beauties.