WHO’S TO BLAME FOR THE LACK OF DIVERSITY IN FASHION INDUSTRY?

Yesterday on the TODAY show the current topic of lack of diversity in the fashion biz was the topic of a conversation involving modeling agency executive Neal Hamil, marketing expert Jerri DeVard and model Veronica Webb.

The centerpiece of the conversation was Italian Vogue’s special issue spotlighting African-American models. The three spoke with Hoda Kotb. DeVard asked, “Do black models sell?…It’s about myth-busting….There’s this myth out there that they don’t. And that’s just not true.”

It’s interesting to note that advertising in the all black issue of Vogue Italia is up “30 percent over a normal edition”.
But who’s to blame for the lack of diversity in the fashion biz?
“Designers, photographers, casting people, these are the people that hire us. We are not the real decision-makers. We are not the ones that ultimately make any decisions,” Hamil said.

Webb agreed, saying, “You need more people who are power brokers. You need more black photographers. There aren’t many. I can count them on my hand. You need more black editors. You need more black hairstylists, makeup people. The more people there are in the industry, behind the scenes, making decisions, the change will come.”

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