Friday, January 25, 2008

Diversity and Responsibility in Fashion

With NYC Fashion Week fast approaching, agency owner Bethann Hardison hosted a forum this week to discuss the absence of models of color on the runways and in the pages of fashion magazines. This was the third event in a series she launched in September.

The topic is an important one, and we were especially pleased to see that some of the most vocal contributors to this conversation have also been leaders when it comes to addressing the issue of eating disorders and other health issues affecting the industry. Nian Fish of KCD, who chairs the CFDA Health Initiative (and who we interviewed about her role) and creative director James Scully, who has been a strong proponent of eating disorders education and awareness, both spoke at this week's forum. Their leadership is evident in their ongoing willingness to take responsibility, start tough conversations and to speak the truth about their own experiences in order to bring about positive changes.

In a message he wrote for the diversity forum, Vogue editor-at-large Andre Leon Talley expanded on the Obama slogan (he is currently volunteering for the campaign) to say "change we can believe in has to happen." We'll second that.

For more coverage, check out Jezebel.

1 comment:

CynthiaC said...

Seems like most posts about fashion and ethnicity focus only on the lack of black models, even though the fashion world lacks all non-white models. Why isn't this ever brought up, outside of the blogosphere? There are lots of tall, skinny Asian women in northern China and Korea who are very fair-skinned (if they're interested in fair skin), so it should be a good place to scout.

(by the way, there's an Asian model in the February issue of Town & Country)