Naomi Campbell has continued to work as a supermodel despite being 39, but even though she’s been able to defy fashion industry norms, she says black and other models of color are having a tough time in the recession. “This year, we have gone back all the way that we had advanced,” she told The Telegraph last week. “I don’t see any black woman, or of any other race, in big advertising campaigns.”
Naomi said Italian Vogue’s Black Issue last summer “made some noise,” but didn’t actually cause any changes in how often minority models are booked. “People, in the panic of the recession, don’t dare to put a girl of color in their campaign, full stop,” she added. “Nor of any other race. It’s a shame. It’s very sad.”
Also, only one magazine, i-D, chose to put women of color on the cover of its September issue. We won’t be able to tell for sure whether minority models are truly being abandoned by the fashion industry until New York Fashion Week. We’ll be watching and we hope to see more models of color strutting on the catwalks.
