The reaction to Vogue Italia’s latest ‘black’ issue is sending ripples through the industry, forcing the fashion industry to sit up and listen to the unseemingly concept of using non-white models.
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has caused a phenomenon that the publishers had to rush to reprint an extra 40,000 copies to distribute to the UK and US. A massive amount considering average monthly sales are around the 109,000 mark.
Hoping to influence the next show season to put a stop to the ‘white-out’ that usually dominates the catwalks and magazines.
There are three Vogue Italia cover versions of the edition, one of which features 18 year-old Jourdan Dunn, who was discovered in Primark by a Storm scout.
Renowned photographer Steven Meisel pictures 18 new and established stars - with bust sizes ranging from A to E-cup expected that focusing purely on non-white models would cause some debate, but nobody anticipated the global interest. However, model scouts, agencies, casting directors and designers don’t foresee this phenomenon leading to major changes in the industry. Just look at the ongoing skinny debate, which hasn’t resulted in any changes whatsoever.
The reason for not using black models in the past is that they don’t sell, but from what is quickly becoming the best selling edition of Vogue ever, that clearly isn’t true. Black agencies that have previously had to fight to keep going are now inundated with requests for models.