Word: modelers
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...with which Liya eventually signed: "We hear things every day that people in any other industry would realize aren't appropriate to say, but in the fashion industry, it's chalked up to a creative vision." He says it is not uncommon when he tries to book a black model for a runway show to be rebuffed with "We already have our black girl...
Such is the case with Liya. After the Gucci show, she started walking the runways for Donna Karan, Chanel and Dolce & Gabbana, among others; she frequently appears in American Vogue and had an entire issue dedicated to her by the magazine's French edition, becoming just the third black model to appear on its cover. In April she signed a multimillion-dollar contract with cosmetics giant Estee Lauder, the first time in its 57-year history that the company, already represented by Elizabeth Hurley and Carolyn Murphy, signed such a deal with a black model...
...Liya is a rare example, one of only three or four models who are not Caucasian currently working at a high-fashion level, an unspoken quota that, despite a few anomalous seasons, has persisted for years. Jennifer Starr, an industry casting agent, says she has never heard a designer say he doesn't want an African-American or Hispanic model to represent the brand. "He'll describe the feel and inspiration for the collection, and we'll send as many models, regardless of race, that fit that description," she says. Says designer Diane von Furstenberg: "Sometimes you're not thinking...
...chalked up to trends. At various times, certain looks are more in demand. Says Liya's IMG agent, Kyle Hagler: "A while ago, every show had to have Asian girls, but that seems to have passed." At the moment, one would be hard pressed to find a model who hails from somewhere other than Eastern Europe...
Bart suggests another factor may be that right now the more influential decision makers hold less than enlightened views on diversity. Bethann Hardisonwho was a model and design assistant in the 1970s and in the '90s ran her own modeling agency, which launched the careers of many black modelspoints out that over the past decade, virtually every design house has been bought by a conglomerate, which she believes has stifled creativity and imagination...