 in the fashion industry. Italian Vogue's editor, Franca Sozzani,
became intrigued when hearing of Hardison's efforts and was further
moved to action when she saw the success Barack Obama and his wife, who
are people of color, have had in the primaries.
For Meisel, who has photographed every black model of note, and who grew tired of asking his advertising clients if he could use a "black girl, only for them to tell me no," Sozzani's trend spotting, if you will, could not have been better timing. "I thought, it's ridiculous, this discrimination. It's so crazy to live
in such a narrow, narrow place. Age, weight, sexuality, race—every
kind of prejudice," he told The New York Times. The result of their efforts? A gatefold cover featuring four models (note: this is extremely expensive to produce and normally relies heavily on advertising support), feature articles about black women in the arts and entertainment and one hundred-plus pages of gorgeous fashion photography featuring icons, it girls and the best new faces in fashion, who happen to be black or Latina. Makeup maven, Pat McGrath painted the faces of Naomi Campbell, Karen Alexander, Iman, Chanel Iman, Sessilee Lopez, Tocarra (Meisel pushed for a plus-size model as well) and Jourdan Dunn.
The stunning imagery makes us think of Trace magazine's annual "Black Girls Rule" on some levels, of the pages of Suede (where I served as deputy editor) on most; and Elle magazine circa 1980s when they showcased some 15 to 20 pages of the top black models of the time (Karen Alexander, Gail O'Neil, Kersti Bowser and more) in beauty and fashion stories shot primarily by Gil Bensimon. The latter didn't go over so well with Elle's core audience of white women who barraged the unsuspecting French firm with the most vile hate mail they've ever received. While also known to be more inclusive than any other fashion title, American Elle never made that mistake twice. Hopefully, Italian Vogue won't receive the same treatment from its European readers.
Without question we applaud Meisel and Sozzani's fortitude to make the July issue all-black, and encourage everyone to purchase it once it becomes available stateside in a few weeks. But we can't help but feel this is a bittersweet victory. Sadly, the truth is that for this to occur—even in 2008—it could only have been done for a foreign title. That American Vogue, in comparison, will print one article, penned by Hardison, about the dearth of black models, underscores this in crimson red. In this matter, as in all others about race and equality, it is actions that truly speak louder than any written or spoken words.
See a sneak peek at the images, courtesy of Italian Vogue.
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