No matter how much I profess I love fashion, style and scouting out the latest runway shows to gain seasonal inspiration for my wardrobe, there is always one looming factor in my periphery: I’m not white or a size 2. In a world where fashion is suppose to mold itself to compliment the diversity of people on this Earth, it has constantly fallen short of that promise over and over again.
In this past season’s collections, a whooping 80% of models were white. The next highest demographic were Asians, leaving a little less than 10% African American. Then you have some brands who just didn’t show any color at All. To top all of that off, I look at the stereotypical African-American in fashion shows; needless to say, they don’t look like me. At all. They’re either rocking a Jordan Dunn look, super light-skinned with straight (or straighter) hair with predominately ‘European’ facial characteristics. On the flip side, you find someone who possess that extremely rich, deeeeeeep brown skin, with hair textures either shaved down or somewhere in the 4C color. The lack in racial diversity among fashion shows has always been something I’ve struggled with, even more now as I find myself wanting to become part of that family on an editorial/photographic sense. I think the rather more insulting thing is having a body of white models stereotypically possess characteristics of African/African-American culture, give it an ‘African’ theme, and STILL not employ black women/POC for the show. Now THAT speaks volumes.
I am not a model. Well, a standardized model. Maybe I’d do great in another country, but here, in America, anything over MAYBE a size 6 is starting to straddle along the lines of ‘big’ for fashion designers. I won’t reveal my size, but allow me to assure you, I ain’t no size 6. What’s even more crazy is that the average American woman isn’t even a size 6, which leads me to always wonder do fashion designers, even those found in America, make clothes for the ‘American’ woman? & what does she look like? Because I certainly don’t appear to be involved in that demographic.
When will the fashion industry diversify itself to include people of all shades and sizes? While it may look visually appeasing to see the same thing walking down the runway, there is buying power and pride in all the demographics the catwalk chooses to leave out. Somehow, the designers need to assert that body-shaming is not something that should be tolerated, because every woman’s body is different and unique (plus, genetics will take the wheel for a lot of things you can’t even control!). We all should have a fair shot at Fashion and whatever industry we choose to be a part of. I don’t want to be a part of something simply because they’re 1) trying to get a quota, or 2) have some weird fetishization with my skin tone. I know you have to do what you have to do to get the things in life you want, but I’m not going to stop ordering carry out or eating late night ice cream cones to make anyone happy but myself. Trust me, it makes me happy.
I guess in the meantime, I’m tasked with finding a way to make myself the target audience and average consumer. Want to read more? Check out these articles here on OpEd pieces on the business of fashion, an ever-growing global crisis.
