FASHION WEEK LABELED TOO WHITE

Former model Tyson Beckford says he's disappointed with the severe lack of melanin represented during New York Fashion Week.


"What happened to all the black people on the runway?" Beckford asked in an interview with The Associated Press. "There are no blacks on the cats."

"There used to be myself, Naomi Campbell, Veronica Webb, Tyra Banks," Beckford said. "There used to be a lot of us out there, but today a lot of the designers just aren't catering to black people."

The AP put it this way: "There were drops of color here and there [at NY Fashion Week], but with the exception of a couple of shows, the runways were lined with pallid, bony bodies."

Naomi Campbell put it another way: "Women of color are not a trend. That's the bottom line."


The lack of diversity on fashion runways has been the topic of three panel discussions since September held by former model and agent Bethann Hardison. Diane von Furstenberg, president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, sent a memo to its members encouraging them to create fashion shows "that are truly multicultural."

"I do believe it did have an effect on the shows," says Kyle Hagler, manager at IMG Models, adding that there were a couple of new, diverse faces. "Obviously there is still more that needs to be done."

On Forbes' 2007 list of the top fifteen earning models in the industry, only one — Liya Kebede — was black. The "in look" right now is white, says Holly Alford, a fashion historian from Virginia Commonwealth University. She says: "It's a white European girl look that is being made popular on the magazine covers."

Still, Chanel Iman Robinson, who is black, is one of the most in-demand models this season. And Hagler hates to think that race is a trend. He says: "I think it's outrageous to think that we would exclude groups of people because they are not quote unquote fitting the trend. If it comes down to that, I would probably not work in this industry any longer. So hopefully this is not a trend. Hopefully this discussion has inspired people to take action."

There is a lot of finger-pointing over whose action that should be. Some blame the modeling agencies for not sending more ethnic models to casting calls. Others blame the designers for not hiring ethnic models. Then there are those who put the onus on the casting directors, who work for the designers.


Fashion designer Nick Verreos says he has asked agencies to send models of color only to have them send mostly white women. And Venditti, also director of "Billy The Kid," says there are so few ethnic girls at the casting calls that there are not many to choose from. Some of the models of color are eliminated because of fit or walk. Verreos admits that some designers simply won't use models of color.

"I have heard rumblings that the girls of color take away from the garments, that they are so fierce and have so much of a persona, you notice them first as opposed to noticing the clothing," he says. "So there are a lot of designers who would rather have the clothing be noticed and have a pale background. I just don't think that's right."

The entire industry needs to take responsibility, says Neal Hamil, director of Elite Model Management North America, which is sponsoring the next Town Hall meeting. "There really is not one group or component of the fashion community that is more guilty than others," he says. "We're all failing. There was a difference this season ever so slight. The better news is that everyone in the industry can also be part of the solution."