Saying publicly to New York Magazine what many of us are thinking, Iman recently expressed concern that the highly anticipated "all-black" July issue of Italian Vogue will just be a gimmick and may not change anything about the lack of models of color in fashion magazines. "I still don't like us to be a caricature...They'll think, 'Okay, we did it.' And then they're done with it, and we'll have to wait till next year." The iconic model also shared her belief that the fashion industry is out of touch and that in 2007 black models in particular were "nonexsistant" and that the industry was "outdated" when compared to other media. The answer, according to the legendary beauty, is to go all Norma Rae on their asses and form a union. "I can only say that one of the reasons is that models have never had unions, so there is no one to say, 'This isn't right.'" Iman, along with Jourdan Dunn, Veronica Webb, and newcomer Arlenis among others, will appear in Vogue Italia in July. Still no official word on which model or models will appear on the cover.
Showing posts with label stereotypes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stereotypes. Show all posts
Iman Doesn't Want Black Models to be Caricatures
Saying publicly to New York Magazine what many of us are thinking, Iman recently expressed concern that the highly anticipated "all-black" July issue of Italian Vogue will just be a gimmick and may not change anything about the lack of models of color in fashion magazines. "I still don't like us to be a caricature...They'll think, 'Okay, we did it.' And then they're done with it, and we'll have to wait till next year." The iconic model also shared her belief that the fashion industry is out of touch and that in 2007 black models in particular were "nonexsistant" and that the industry was "outdated" when compared to other media. The answer, according to the legendary beauty, is to go all Norma Rae on their asses and form a union. "I can only say that one of the reasons is that models have never had unions, so there is no one to say, 'This isn't right.'" Iman, along with Jourdan Dunn, Veronica Webb, and newcomer Arlenis among others, will appear in Vogue Italia in July. Still no official word on which model or models will appear on the cover.
Iman (1985)
Iman is photographed here by Peter Beard, the photographer credited with "discovering" her while she was a student at the university in Nairobi.Source: Omifan/TFS
Naomi Campbell - French Vogue 4/91
Photographed by Pаtrick Dermаrchelier/Source: foto_decadent livejournal
Black Panthers?
Photographers : René Habermacher & Ioannis Tspoulanis
Sigh.
What would happen if all the Black models got together and decided to never again appear in ads wearing animal prints?
These women are all drop dead gorgeous and I'm not going to lie, the images are striking but haven't we all seen this before a hundred times?
Surely this scenario isn't the only thing that stylist Franck Benhamou could come up with. I've seen his work before, I know that he is very creative.
The final eyeroll came when I read that the of the series is Pantheres Noires.
Source: Livejournal/blackstatuesque
Iman "Tigress" ad from 1977
via GawkerThis ad is intriguing to me for a couple reasons. First because, it's Iman. Who doesn't want to look at her all day? Second, because in spite of her incredible beauty and grace, this is so horribly styled, even by 1977 standards. If they were going for the "looks like she was just attacked by a tiger" look then I suppose they succeeded but really, why the bed head? This doesn't say wild and sexy to me, it says just rolled out of bed, a bed which just happens to be a bus terminal. Also, Tigress? I've read that many Black models complain that the fashion machine exploits race, using images of Black women as a negative construction. Instead of being presented as the beautiful women they are, they are instead presented as animalistic and exotic, something other than beautiful. Lastly, the ad immediately made me think of Duran Duran's "Hungry Like the Wolf" video.
Now, to be perfectly honest, I freaking loved that video when I was a preteen. I lived, breathed and dreamed Duran Duran and when I first saw that video, I was floored. I mean, it had an honest to God dark skinned Black woman in it and she got to kiss Simon Le Bon. I so wanted to be her. It's so funny how once just accepts things at face value when one is a child. Thinking about that video now sorta makes me cringe.
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