Garments: We Come In All Colors, Shapes, And Sizes
Harpers Bazaar Arabia
Chanel Iman Speaking Out About Diversity in Fashion: In a recent interview with Teen Vogue, Chanel Iman shared her thoughts about the progress of seeing diversity in the fashion world. As someone who has been in the industry for a while, Iman is no stranger to dealing with the ins and outs of the business. She’s graced the cover of Vogue before, and has strutted down the runways of some of the top fashion houses like Versace and Balenciaga. When asked about the struggles she’s had to face or how much diversity she’s really seen she responded by saying “I think it was a struggle when I first started, just because it was always one black girl per show, or campaign, or whatever it was,” she explained. “I couldn't stand it, because I just felt like I was being judged a lot, rather than accepted for who I was.” But she added that it seems like the industry is opening up to “more color on the runway.” “..but of course there's room for more of it, and more diversity. It's nice to be part of a culture change.” Iman really spoke as a millennial, and someone who is with the modern and ever-changing times in her interview. She spoke from the perspective of a well-developed and compassionate model, and when asked about the future she said “It's very important for everybody to vote. We are the new generation of voices. We have a voice, and it's our generation, so we have to take care of it. As young people, we’re pushing the future.” Perhaps, we can all take a thing or two away from the same point of view this one-of-a-kind supermodel has. Let us grow with the times rather than questioning it. The future, not only of fashion, but entertainment, politics, and our overall world, can be a beautiful thing if we learn to embrace what’s coming rather than question it.
Nike Bringing A Whole New Meaning to “Just Do It”: Nike just delivered the ultimate, and we mean ULTIMATE, advertisement featuring Paloma Elsesser, a plus-size model baring a sports bra. Not only did the active wear line choose a full-figured woman for the first time in its history, but the ad was dropped in the most modern way possible, on Instagram. Don’t we all agree that it’s about time these companies moved past the mold that only think people work out? After all, if the topic is about working out, why have all advertisements featured men and woman who are already healthy with a toned stomach and tight muscles? The raves about this ad don’t just stop here. Not only does it respect body and racial diversity, but it opens up the door to a wide variety of different humans. There are no mentions of Paloma being a plus-sized model, just her and the sports bra, and that’s it. There are no slogans or taglines endorsing the “body-positive” image to be found accompanying in the image. Instagram users loved the message behind this latest advertisement. They left plenty of positive comments and this is undoubtedly a great step in the right direction. We can only sit back and hope that other companies take notice of this movement, and realize catering to different demographics is vital.
Instagram The New Twitter? Instagram is following in the footsteps of Twitter when it comes to trending hashtags. Recently, many users spoke out questioning why members of the fashion industry have been so silent after all the racial news. The app rolled out a new initiative, titled #RunwayForAll, to highlight diversity in the industry through various people that use that hashtag to gain awareness regarding the modeling industry. Each day, a person’s story is shared on the app, to its 162 million followers. Some of these people include Mama Cax, a Haitian blogger and aspiring model whose leg was amputated just at the age of 18.
Cax, who usually keeps her story to herself, took the opportunity to share her experience with the world in order to gain awareness about why diversity is so necessary. She felt it’s always important to show people from different places on our growing planet. By doing so, people can get a chance to learn, talk, and grow from their peers.