Dame Vivienne Westwood: Fashion Industry is Racist



This is a hard one. On the one hand, of course, magazines -- as a business -- must sell. It goes without saying. On the other hand, because of the way things are, black faces cut magazine sales significantly. So, What is to be done?

Fashion magazines -- whether we want to admit it or not -- have great influence in determining what we in society regard as beautiful. Fashion magazines valorize thin, busty blonde women. That is the lo ultimo of beauty in our culture. Are we to leave it that way? Ought we to care?

Postmodern-Punk-glam Goddess Vivienne Westwood -- the only woman ever allowed to smoke in the Paper magazine offices -- says fashion magazines should, for a while at least, be forced to put a certain number of faces of people with color on the cover. The Corsair is not sure he agrees (Who would enforce such an edict? The State? Pfft), but it is interesting (Especially coming from such a working-class iconic source). It is even more interesting if such an idea were voluntarily entered upon by a confederation of major fashion glossies. The lifeliness is, of course, of such an event is -- alas -- doubtful. From Telegraph:

"Vivienne Westwood, the founder of punk style who has become the grand dame of British fashion, is no stranger to controversy.

"Vivienne Westwood described this Government as 'the most autocratic we have ever had'


"She has now turned her fire on the magazine industry calling for a quota of black and ethnic-minority models to be used on front covers.

"Describing the fashion industry as 'racist', Dame Vivienne singled out magazines as particularly culpable.

"Editors, she said, should be 'forced' to use a certain proportion of black models even if it hit their circulation.

"She recalled a conversation with a fashion magazine editor regarding the use of black models which had shocked her.

"'She said that what you always have to have on a magazine cover is a face, that is what sells the magazine, and she told me that you could not put a black person on there because sales halve,' she said."

Of course this would never happen, even in an industry -- at least on paper -- as "politically correct" as the fashion industry. But Westwood is a controversialist trying to start a conversation. A conversation is a good place to start (And, Dammi, The Corsair would love to see some more Asian and Latino faces on fashion magazines as well!).

Bookmark The Corsair (9/18/2007)