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#TBT: Vogue Italia's 'Black Issue'
#TBT: Vogue Italia's 'Black Issue'
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#TBT: Vogue Italia's 'Black Issue'
Seven years ago, the world heaved a collective gay gasp at Vogue Italia's landmark "Black Issue" -- an answer to crticism often lobbed at the fashion industry's lack of diversity -- featuring a few dozen of the world's biggest and most beautiful models of color.
We had some legends:
Iman
Naomi Goddamn Campbell
Alek Wek
Tyra Banks, reminding us all what initially paid the bills
And we had some legendary upcoming children:
Chanel Iman
Jourdan Dunn
Sessilee Lopez, serving you Grace Jones pulling up to the bumper
And even former America's Next Top Model also-ran Toccara
It was a moment, it was epic and it was everything. Seven years later, though, little has changed. Naomi Campbell is still killing it and everyone else:
Style.com
Here she is at 802 years young, slaying at Givenchy -- one of the few brands that regularly casts models of color in runway shows and campaign ads. But black models still find it hard to find acceptance, as Nykhor Paul, a South Sudanese stunner, revealed when she dropped the mic on the fashion industry earlier this week:
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A photo posted by nykhor (@nykhor) on
But on the other hand, Rihanna is the first black muse at Dior, perhaps the most storied house in fashion. Sure, she's not a model by profession -- though I'm not really sure what RiRi's profession is besides Bad Bitch -- but it is a sign of increased diversity. Still, nothing can or will ever top this:
Les Fabian Brathwaite -- model-mogul.