According to The Fashion Spot‘s bi-annual diversity report, the spring 2019 season was the most diverse NYFW we’ve ever had. Y’all KNOW I live for a good report backed by numbers and figures, and out of the 76 shows and close to 2,300 models that walked, it seems that over 40% of casting added nonwhite models to its stats.
I would like to point out that it wasn’t like EVERY designer and EVERY brand all of a sudden looked and felt more diverse. There were isolated instances where we saw true diversity (well, at least racially), with the majority of most booked models (albeit from me to speak on someone like a certain Kardashian or Jenner who doesn’t have to work as hard as others) were models of color.
Top: ASOS (sorry guys, my exact version is gone, but try this one in black), Jeans: ASOS (Yep, out again, but here ya go as an alternative), and shoes: Zara, but I have some issues with Zara so here are some cute River Island alternatives.
Aside from race, we also saw a spotted increase in body diversity, something that continues to be an important part of my work and my mission as a woman of color who is curvy in the fashion industry. There was a plethora of non-straight-sized models, though many of them came from the usual champions of diversity, such as Cristian Siriano and Chromat. I even spoke on Bold TV about diversity this season, and the common goals that I and countless others have in securing more representation now and later.
Yes, I do think it’s worth pointing out that other brands like Savage x Fenty lingerie line challenged the types of bodies we can see on the runway, and honestly, it was very encouraging to see pregnant and curvaceous women embracing and loving up on their curves.
There were huge improvements to the lineup, and I am quite happy to stand in the midst of this movement, however the pendulum doesn’t end here. I’m sure many want us to now sit down, be quiet, and eat our food. While I know that there is certainly a moment to take and celebrate, we can not become complacent in what diversity and inclusion can look like when people really focus on making the work more proactive and valuable. We can’t stop here and we have to continue fighting for something real that supersedes a conversation moving forward.
