There has been a lack of racial diversity among models on the runways, even in this years New York Fashion Week. An article on NYMag describes a former model agency owner's effort to break the silence and confront this issue.
http://nymag.com/thecut/2013/09/givhan-confronting-the-lack-of-black-models.html
http://nymag.com/thecut/2013/09/givhan-confronting-the-lack-of-black-models.html
Bethann Hardison, the former model agency owner who has been a leading advocate for greater diversity on the fashion runway, has gone live with an international roll call of design houses whose actions she characterizes as “racist” due to the lack of black models in their fall 2013 shows.
A strongly worded letter, posted at the website Balance Diversity reads, in part:
“Eyes are on an industry that season after season watches fashion design houses consistently use … one or no models of color. No matter the intention, the result is racism. Not accepting another based on the color of their skin is clearly beyond 'aesthetic' when it is consistent with the designer’s brand. Whether it’s the decision of the designer, stylist or casting director, that decision to use basically all white models, reveals a trait that is unbecoming to modern society.”
