Not an Issue!

Kudos to Vogue for selecting a black woman to grace the cover of their September Issue - now this is a film that I would watch!  One where Anna Wintour and her creative team decides to place Halle Berry on the cover!  Granted, Vogue in its entire history has only once given Naomi Campbell this honor in 1989 - but not since.  In an industry that has historically claimed that a magazine will not sell if you place black women on the cover of a major issue and have timidly tested the waters by giving them less relevant issues like February, July or August - it's a rather gutsy move for Vogue.  More importantly, to do so at a time when magazines are taking a hit just like the rest of the economy.     

I remember when now deceased Harper's Bazaar Editor in Chief, Liz Tilberis, in an interview with Jeanne Becker of Fashion Television was asked, why there are not more black women in her magazine or on the runways, and she emphatically stated, "Perhaps they don't want to be models."    Many do and are simply not accepted and often deliberately ignored.  I recall my days as a model and walking into Ford Model Management where a lovely gentleman saw me and excitedly went back to introduce me to one of their agents.  At which point she unabashedly exclaimed, "we already have our one black model - now granted, it was Naomi Campbell and who could argue with that!  Fortunately, the current editor of Harper's Bazaar, Glenda Bailey, who I have met, does not share Liz's point of view as it was Halle who appeared on their May 2009 issue and Janet Jackson in October - come on Glenda, I know that you've got a September or March issue in the making for a woman of color!  

Admittedly, I look forward to the day when placing a woman of color on a runway and on the cover of a magazine is no longer an "issue."  The beautiful diversity in this world should be celebrated and it is by taking these bold steps that we will redefine our limited understanding of what is beautiful.  By doing so, perhaps the industry will become more interesting and sell more magazines and clothing rather than by constantly recreating it's current stagnantly similar looks.  Perhaps then we will see a broader range -  Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Hispanic, older and curvy women to name a few!  Vogue once defined to the masses what was fashionable - it was not the other way around.  Get back in Vogue, Vogue - continue taking risks!  The Mario Testino images of Halle are as expected - gorgeous!