“The fashion industry does not only reflect beauty standards. It’s a reflection of the current state of our democracy.”
Ebonee Davis
We can say that the people we see on Netflix, the silver screen, and shared on our social media feed are not real. We can pretend that they do not affect or represent us. But the truth is that these parts of our culture shape our reality. Despite what our personal reality might be like, what we see becomes a microcosm of our world. We might never go beyond the county, state, or country lines, but through the media and arts we’ll figure out what lies beyond. The problem is that we’ve been told a lie.
According to several news outlets, SS 2017 Fashion Week was the most diverse ever. Yet when we actually see the data, we realize that we’re still far from reaching true diversity. Progress is seen at New York’s runways, having 30.3% of models of color. That is still a low number when we compare it to the actual percentage of people of color in the entire United States. We could respond that, while it is a low percentage, it is some form of progress. It’s also likely that we’d hear someone say that this is the fashion industry, not the real world.
But what if listened to Ebonee Davis’s words and started to think of the fashion industry as an extension of our current reality? In a way, we’ve already started. Never before had we had as many models with an activist streak. We currently have women who speak out on issues affecting race, disability, and gender. Through the platform of social media and fashion, they have found a way to express what many others cannot. And yes, representation does matter. Because, like many young women, these models have talked about the disheartening moment when they realized they did not look like the ideal of beauty standards.
While the TED Talk by Cameron Russell from 2012 went viral, and can still be found shared on someone’s timeline, Davis’s has not had the same effect. Perhaps it’s because Ebonee’s is harder to watch, since she talks about how she stopped wearing weaves and hair relaxers on the day that Alton Sterling was murdered. Yes, it’s tough to hear. Because this is no longer a talk about seeing how your life is full of privilege. It’s about the realization that the lack of representation, even in something as superficial as a fashion show, can have consequences on people’s perception of a particular minority or group.
“People should see themselves in an editorial, in a magazine or a commercial.”
Jillian Mercado
Models have power, even when they don’t. Although the current environment is not very positive towards the people walking the runway, they are still able to reach to places that many of those would not be able to. James Scully, a casting agent, explained to Hannah Marriot from The Guardian why models currently are seen as disposable by designers, stylists, and casting directors. Because unlike the super models like Naomi Banks and Linda Evangelista, “In the 1980s and 1990s, girls were bigger, and designers would remake the dress if they gained a few pounds. Now, they would just get rid of her.”
Ebonee Davis explains that during the first years of her career, she didn’t want to speak up for fear of being considered as “difficult to work with”. This means having to deal with makeup artists who did not know how to style her because their foundation palette only went so far or who simply did not know what to do with her hair. When we start to think just how broad representation needs to be and how far we are from reaching it, we can get disheartened. Because to get there, we need a lot of support from different industries. Luckily, the women who are raising their voices are not going anywhere. They are here to give us hope to continue the fight. They are proving how our best asset is our brain, why compassion is our sexiest angle, and why our inner strength is the most beautiful part of ourselves.
Slick Woods and Adwoa Aboah are two models and friends who share images as well as messages for young women. They want their fans to know that being on the cover of a magazine or walking the runway does not shield you from the difficulties of life. Aboah is very vocal about depression and mental health. Her website Gurls Talk is an open forum for the myriad of issues young people face each day. As for Slick, her own brand of quirkiness is showing how there’s not one way to stand out. Her success in the fashion industry shows that beauty is not the standard that has been perpetuated time and time again. Being open about yourself is confidence, and accepting vulnerability is stronger than what Hollywood has told us.
“I think model used to be a figure that purposely appeared unattainable. I’m changing that by answering your question in this moment. Man, I’m definitely an out-of-pocket pick for a model, I say what I want and do what I want.”
Slick Woods
Why are books written by women called Chick-Lit?
Photographs of strength, beauty and feminity.
Sources:
Harper’s Bazaar
Ebonee Davis’s Ted Talk
The Guardian
Gurls TalkThe Washington PostThe UK Fashion Spot
