No Black Models: Who Is To Blame?

There was a panel discussion in New York to talk about the lack of black faces in fashion today.

Ethnic dress or Ethnic face?: A black model at the Duro Olowu show

By which they mean of course in the ads and on the runways, not in the industry which has a contingent of power blacks, including Andre Leon Talley of Vogue, the make-up artist Pat McGrath, Patrick Robinson, the new creative director of the Gap, Robin Ghivan, the Pulitzer-prize winning fashion journalist at the Washington Post and agent Bethann Hardison, who hosted the debate.

The most interesting part of the debate seems to be "who's to blame?" Some say Miuccia Prada, who didn't have any black models on the runway this season and is also blamed for the rise of the too skinny model. But Hardison seems to have another idea. She said, "I feel like there is one person, behind a curtain, like in The Wizard Of Oz, turning the knobs. And that person could change everything. And we all have to think, 'Who could that one person be?' Think of that one person," she urged the audience. "Don't say it! Just think it."

Hmmm. One person, behind a curtain.... Could it be Anna Wintour of American Vogue? Or is that too easy. Vogue is where trends end up, not begin. If we're going to blame the press, what about the so-called cutting edge fashion journals where editorial trends begin? The Another Magazines, the Pops, the Citizen Ks? I don't have any of them with me here in India, but someone take a look and let me know?

Personally, I have other theories. Like maybe we should blame the rise Eastern European super-skinny models. If you put a black model next to them in an ad or on the runway, they'd make those girls look even more like walking ghosts. Or maybe designers at the big brands are worried not about racism in the U.S., but about racism in developing countries where they are working to expand?

The only sure thing is that it is all very complicated and culturally confused. Duro Olowu, a black London-based designer, raised an interesting point when he told me that he uses some black girls on his runway, but could never use only black models because he would be labelled an "ethnic" designer. Maybe in the new global market we should start asking for more faces of all shades.

(Photo by Karl Prouse/Catwalking for Getty)