It’s a small world after all, even in fashion

You can blame it on Hollywood.  You can blame it on the collapse of the former Eastern-bloc.  You can blame it on colonial mentality.  Like the Milli Vanili song goes, you’ve got to blame it on something.  Except it’s not the rain that I’m talking about, it’s the lack of representation for women of color — black, brown, yellow; anything but white — on the runway and in fashion and beauty ads.

Apparently, the vision of a global village, where every woman was represented in the clothes she wore or the products she used, is a lie.  Left with little or no role models that are of their skin color, non-Caucasian girls find themselves trying to fit into little white boxes.  They straighten their hair, whiten their skin, binge and purge — do anything to make themselves more like the waiflike white people they see on TV or in magazines.  And the phenomenon isn’t local.  It’s an epidemic that’s affecting the international fashion and beauty scene.  International runways and magazines are filled with thin, fair-skinned women, leaving those of other colors out in the cold.  The reason, many beauty editors say, is that brands (or magazines) with women of color as spokespeople (or cover models) simply don’t sell.

The media backlash, especially in the UK, has been phenomenal, but alas, not enough.  This is probably part of the reason Vogue Italia has decided to fill their July 2008 issue almost exclusively with black models.  We hear that über gorgeous supermodel Iman is going to be part of it, as well as Naomi Campbell and Tina Turner.  According to Vogue Italia’s editor Franca Sozzani, the idea came about as a reaction to her going to a fashion show and finding that all the models looked, and even walked, the same (Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Barack Obama is leading the U.S. Presidential elections, thereby fueling interest in people of color)  The buzz about the July issue is so big that it looks to be an instant collector’s item.  So who was it that said non-white covers won’t sell?

Thankfully, Vogue isn’t the only major mover and shaker that has tapped non-white people to represent it.  Back in 1994, MAC asked drag diva RuPaul to front their Viva Glam campaign and in 2000, it was Lil’ Kim and Mary J. Blige who were the spokespersons for Viva Glam III.    Both lip colors did very well, sales-wise.  Just so you know, Viva Glam is the primary fund-raising tool for MAC’s AIDS Fund and Viva Glam lipsticks and The MAC AIDS Fund are the only two things that the cosmetics company advertises.

More recently, popular brands like Maybelline, L’Oreal and Cover Girl are beginning to discover that having non-white image models means a wider consumer interest and by extension, goodwill. 

Everyone has seen Chinese actress ZhiYi Zhang’s beautiful face grace Maybelline ads worldwide.  L’Oreal has expanded its beauty ambassadorship as well, tapping women of grace and achievement such as Beyonce Knowles, Aishwarya Rai, Penelope Cruz, Eva Longoria and Gong Li to represent their products.  All beautiful.  All world-famous.  All women from ethnic backgrounds.  L’Oreal’s latest spokesperson is 2008 Miss World winner ZiLin Zhang (not to be confused with the actress ZhiYi Zang), China’s first ever claim to the title.  She is to be the face of L’Oreal in Asia (except Japan). 

Cover Girl did a double whammy, getting Rhianna and Queen Latifah (who has been their spokesmodel for the last six years) as image models for two of their lines.  Not only are they both African American, but Queen Latifah doesn’t exactly fit into the role of the waiflike model.  Queen has, for the longest time, been the epitome of a woman who lives for no one but herself, and has been celebrated for it.  Making someone like her represent a cosmetic line is like making k.d. lang (who is white, yes, but who also isn’t anyone’s idea of feminine) sell lipstick — which is what MAC did in 1997, by the way, with its also best-selling Viva Glam II.  Not limiting themselves to colored celebs, Cover Girl conducted a model search last year to find a “normal” woman of color to join their roster of fresh faces.  The brand has been catering to women of color since the early ’90s, when they introduced shades specifically made for darker skin tones.  The hope is that other brands follow their lead and put more women of color on their ads and pages.

Chalk it up to the rise of non-white women’s spending power, or to China’s and India’s promise of future wealth, or to the rain, if you want.  Whatever the reason, it’s about time that women from ethnic backgrounds are represented in beauty and fashion.  It’s about time that all women, regardless of color, creed or race, be celebrated for the beauty that’s all her own.  A sappy sentiment, sure, but isn’t freedom of self-expression what fashion is all about?