Veteran Supermodels Naomi Campbell and Iman have recently called for an end to racism in the fashion industry.
In a bid to tackle what they say is a lack of racial diversity on the runways, the duo, along with former model agent Bethann Hardison, launched a campaign to raise awareness of racism in the industry last month, reports CNN.
Dubbed the "Diversity Coalition" the campaign wrote to the main fashion councils in New York, London, Milan and Paris calling for an end to racism in the fashion industry.
They also singled out fashion houses Marc Jacobs, Victoria Beckham, Calvin Klein, Donna Karan and Rodarte which, according to them, lack diversity in their shows.
According to CNN, Iman said the absence of people of colour on the runways and featured in photography reinforces to young girls that they aren't beautiful or acceptable enough.
While Naomi said when she started modelling in 1986 there was a lot of diversity with models of every race seen on the catwalks of the world.
"It's not like that today. It's heart-breaking to me that we're in 2013 and we're sitting here talking about this. But it has to be done and people need to know," she added.
Despite these new developments there are a number of African models who have done particularly well on the international stage over the years. I take a look at some of the most successful ones
In a bid to tackle what they say is a lack of racial diversity on the runways, the duo, along with former model agent Bethann Hardison, launched a campaign to raise awareness of racism in the industry last month, reports CNN.
Dubbed the "Diversity Coalition" the campaign wrote to the main fashion councils in New York, London, Milan and Paris calling for an end to racism in the fashion industry.
They also singled out fashion houses Marc Jacobs, Victoria Beckham, Calvin Klein, Donna Karan and Rodarte which, according to them, lack diversity in their shows.
According to CNN, Iman said the absence of people of colour on the runways and featured in photography reinforces to young girls that they aren't beautiful or acceptable enough.
While Naomi said when she started modelling in 1986 there was a lot of diversity with models of every race seen on the catwalks of the world.
"It's not like that today. It's heart-breaking to me that we're in 2013 and we're sitting here talking about this. But it has to be done and people need to know," she added.
Despite these new developments there are a number of African models who have done particularly well on the international stage over the years. I take a look at some of the most successful ones
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