Nowadays diversity is at the heart of all conversations and debates. Wether it be ethnic or cultural diversity. The world fashion it not an exception of the rule. Fashion as one used to know it, as one heart of it, has changed.
Castings are the most convincing reflection of that diversity. Speaking about models, gender and ethnicity are not an issue anymore: Andreja Pejic was the first to appear in Vogue, A male striking the pose as a female, Hari Nef signed with IMG Models, Lea T is the face of Redken… They are the figureheads of the transgender movement in the fashion industry.
In the meantime Indians, Arabs, Asians models are becoming more and more in demand by the designers. If years ago one model of color was hired and became a rising star after an other, one can now see them walking catwalks and becoming famous all together. Which is incredibly good for countries the size of India (Pooja Mor, Bhumika Arora, Sabrina Behl, Kelly Gale, Neelam Gill…) or China (Liu Wen, Fei Fei Sun, Du Juan, Ming Xi, Jing Wen, Wangy Xinyu, Yuan Bo Chao…). And according to an article in Vogue this year will see the rise of Jamaican models such as best friends Tami Williams and Kai Newman. On the other hand, makeup brands like Bobby Brown was one of the first to create foundation for women of color. L’Oreal new foundation provide tones and tones of different shades that match everyone’s color skins.
It is also well-known that becoming a model is not as difficult as it used to be in a way that social medias help girls to becoming famous. As Naomi Campbell said once it was less easy and way more slow for them [90’s supermodels] to gain in credibility and notoriety than for the «it-social-media-girls». In how many years models like Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner became a Victoria Secret Angel?].
Also who ruled the fashion world back then? Anna Wintour and maybe one or two of her fellow fashion editorialists. Thanks to social medias plenty of girls [speaking of the bloggers indeed] are somehow one of the most influential peoples. Girls like Chiara Ferragni are invited to runways’ front rows, backstages, premieres… They appear in cover of magazines, they have millions of followers and they also do collaborations with well-know brands or launch heir own such as Chiara who created her first line of shoes. One can not keep an eye on all the bloggers.
If buying a pair of Haute Couture shoes was a luxe back then, nowadays it became quite easy to get one. How many websites are here to help you shopping? How many persons preselect clothes and shoes and accessories so you can all wear either the same things or get your own customized ones. A website like Shopbaazar or Modaoperandi can make you pre-order runway outfits for example. A few years ago one needed to be on a waiting list thanks to the brand manager whom they knew.
H&M played a very important role in this diversification of the world of fashion by launching capsule collections in collaboration with the leading brands such like Jimmy Choo, Karl Lagerfeld, Stella MacCartney, Sonia Rykiel and most recently Balmain. That way everybody can wear a Balmain dress. Those types of collaboration give access to everyone on Earth to luxury brands they probably could not afford without them.
The last Burberry runway show that was hosted in London on February 22nd is a reflection of that diversity. Burberry CEO and chief creative officer Christopher Bailey called it a patchwork of all the things he loves: different music influences, military and plaid patterns, a bit of glam-rock «A blend of different worlds» according to him! Also one said that it might be possible for Burberry to do a mixed runway show male and female included as well as a possibility for the viewers to buy clothes, shoes, and accessories right after the show. That would definitely be a fashion revolution…
Article translated by Valentin Concha-Nunez