Numero magazine magazine used a white model in an editorial, called “African Queen,”. This feature has received a lot of criticism by many in fashion . The question many are asking is why wasn’t a black model hired to represent a feature about ‘African Queen ‘
Bethan Hardison expressed her disappointment “You don’t use the terminology ‘African Queen,’” Hardison agreed about the backlash. “It normally goes towards someone definitively of a certain color.” (Both Numero magazine and the photographer who shot the images have since released apologies for the photos.)
Many think that Numero’s Mag . March 2013 spread is what some perceive as fashion’s ongoing insensitivity to race. Yet the modeling world veteran — famous for championing diversity in fashion for decades — sees reactions to this editorial as a sign that models of color might once again need her support.
“Before all this happened, I knew it was time for me to get back on post, so to speak. To get my army and go back into the battle,” Hardison told theGrio in a phone interview after returning to New York City from the Oscars. “I knew that, because I got statistics about what was happening.”
As the numbers Hardison alluded to show, black models represented only six percent of all who walked at the most recent New York City Fashion Week, according to a report by Jezebel.com. This is a decline from over eight percent last season. Latina models? Two percent. White models dominated the runways at a rate of almost 83 percent.
“I find it very, very sad that we are still battling this industry,” Hardison said. “As soon as I take my foot off the pedal, then the car starts slowing down again.”
Excepts of this article taken from READ MORE : http://thegrio.com/2013/03/01/fashion-veteran-bethann-hardison-on-numero-african-queen-blackface-controversy/
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