As I prepared my post about Ciara fronting Roberto Cavalli’s Fall/Winter 2015 campaign, then wrote another post about Nicki Minaj appearing in the house’s Spring 2015 advertisements, I realized that Cavalli is a pretty strong champion of diversity!
Back in the day, Seeing women of color fronting major ad campaigns or even snagging an editorial in a magazine was a rarity. Now it seems the fashion industry has taken a change for the better, being more inclusive, which is honestly refreshing! I know we have those discussions over where you should spend your money, and supporting brands that support women like us.
Behold 6 high fashion houses you can have zero guilt patronizing:
1. Roberto Cavalli:
From featuring Ciara to Nicki Minaj to Rita Ora, Roberto Cavalli are one of the most inclusive brands in the European designer space.
Their runways reflect their advertising penchants. Binx Walton always represents, as does Joan Smalls.
2. Balmain
Olivier Rousteing is a man of color himself, so there’s no surprise he’d include fabulous men and women of color in his campaigns. From Kim Kardashian and Kanye West to Rihanna, his brand is pop culture obsessed and high on diversity, featuring models and celebs alike.
Olivier tapped Binx Walton to showcase his Resort collections, and casts a flurry of brown girls in his runway show.
From reality show hotties to supermodel greats, Balmain is inclusive of everyone (as long as you’re thin and gorgeous!).
3. Givenchy
Riccardo Tisci is an unabashed fan of Naomi Campbell, cast Alicia Keys and Erykah Badu in his ad campaigns, and has allegedly tapped Beyonce to front the next.
His runway shows are also diversity central; Joan Smalls is a mainstay, along with Grace Mahary and more.
Tisci takes his love for diversity to the limit, even placing African inspired faces on his products.
4. Burberry
The Brits show love to their most successful models, and have cast Malaika Firth, Jourdan Dunn, and Naomi Campbell in their ads.
The same models mentioned are also typically apart of their runway show, whether working the catwalk or sitting front row.
5. Alexander Wang
Alexander Wang loves Zoe Kravitz, so has tapped his muse to be in several ad campaigns. He’s also unafraid to use the unusual subjects, taking a chance on Azealia Banks in his T by Alexander Wang Fall 2012 collection video.Runways? He’s on it! Both Binx Walton and Amilna Estevão scored spots in his Fall 2015 show.
6. DKNY
New York is a multicultural melting pot, and DKNY is committed to reflecting the make up of one of the best cities in the world.
Donna Karan takes the task seriously, and even cast ‘Real People’ and everyday women and men in her Fall 2014 show.
Most Improved
This list wouldn’t be complete without mentioning those brands who were late to the Diversity party, but who are now learning that it pays to mix it up a bit!
7. Dior
With Rihanna, Dior cast their first woman of color in a campaign in history. Not quite sure what took them so long, but Ms. Fenty is a fabulous choice!
8. Chanel
The French house is typically quite whitewashed, but changed the game for their Resort 2015 campaign with Joan Smalls. They’ve also recently paired Pharrell with Cara Delevingne for their Paris-Salzburg campaign, shot by Karl Lagerfeld himself.
9. Prada
Malaika Firth’s Prada Fall/Winter 2013 campaign was the first time the Italian house cast a model of color in 19 years. Since then, Firth, Aya Jones, Emily Montero, and more have been cast in Prada’s typically homogenous shows.
10. Miu Miu
Prada’s Little Sister Miu Miu was also in the news with their appointment of Lupita Nyong’o for their Spring 2014 campaign. Miu Miu’s runways have also diversified; they cast Afro sporting Lineisy Montero in their Fall 2015 runway show, which is pretty epic given the brand’s past.
So it seems the fashion world has finally answered the diversity call!
All this made me think: do you think the industry still has race issues? Or are these changes purely superficial?
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