So 30% of this great country is non-white and yet non-white models are a rarity on the magazine racks, don’t you think? In response to this dearth of blackness in the fashion media, Steven Meisel, notable Vogue photogapher and Franca Sozzani, Italian Vogue editior have teamed up to put out an awesome concept for the upcoming Italian issue of Vogue. Having a reputation for being more daring and more about ideas than money – Sozzani is issuing an all-black Vogue. In an article from the New York Times, Meisel has noted that advertisers often times do not agree to use black girls in the magazine because they claim that consumers wouldn’t buy their products (WTF?!) So Meisel and Sozzani are taking a stand against this discrimination with the July issue. Hopefully this will spark a trend in the industry and not serve as some sort of compensation for a lack of black models in the past (or what might be a lack of black models in future issues). Anywho, all the models photographed are black and all of the feature articles will be about black women in entertainment and the arts. I don’t speak Italian but I am definitely going to check out this ish on the racks and you should, too! As awesome as I think this idea is, I can’t help but be a little bummed that this is happening in Italy and not America. What do you guys think? Would an issue like this fly in good ol’ ‘Merica?
xoxo Andie
