Commentary | Race, Size, and Fashion

I've talked about "race" before, but more country specific - my own Brasil. I've applauded Italian Vogue, for their "All Black" issue, because as a woman of colour it was rather groundbreaking, even if it did garner mixed feelings. But what I can't do and won't do is immediately co-sign this new move by Italian Vogue, that has a "Vogue Black" and "Vogue Curvy" section on the Vogue.it website.

I've known about this for some time, let's just say a little birdie told me this was something Sozzani wanted to do. And before anyone dubs my commentary as "hate or "negative" please know, I have as much vested in Italy as I do in the US and Brasil. I often travel to Italy for work, I'm fluent in Italian, and I'm a huge fan of Vogue Italia. But none of this trumps this feeling that it's not the type of progression I had hoped for, since the "All Black" issue. 

Now, is it all wrong? No. Black women and curvy women deserve to be highlighted and shown in a three dimensional manner by mainstream magazines. But how exactly is sectioning off integrating? And I wonder what people would've said had this been done to all the Vogue websites? What does this say to us as a whole? If we allow it, will it become the norm? Will it be normal to have "special" sections for every group that doesn't make it onto Vogue.it or Vogue.com's main page? Is this truly "in the right direction" as I've heard some say? And the right direction for who? The questions are endless as are the concerns, and I'm not the only one who has them.

Fotos via Vogue.it

I've wondered if this section of Vogue.it would encompass what I feel the word "black" means? Will it include all "black" women regardless if she hails from the US, Brasil, or Amsterdam? Will it highlight the multitude of experiences and cultures from a global perspective? Perhaps I'll never be happy with what I see as pandering and sectioning off. One must seriously ask themselves the question of why in 2010 is this happening. Why is it needed and should it be applauded? The other concern is does Vogue Italia plan to integrate these sections into their print magazine? Will the same people who applaud this effort continue to applaud it, if they don't? As one of my professors use to say "beware the sound of one hand clapping", and as C.S. Lewis said, "the most dangerous ideas in a society are not the ones that are being argued, but the ones that are assumed".

They've already dressed it up as "highlighting" and "celebrating", but I know how to critically look at something without letting my emotions, or need to feel proud cloud my reasoning. What would have been so bad about integrating the black and curvy woman into the main website? What happens if you're black and curvy? What happens if you're Asian and curvy? Where is their section? It just seems like a bottomless hole that will never be filled, and if it continues we may end up going backwards rather than forward.

Most women just want to see some form of themselves in the fantasy. And fashion doesn't need anymore sections, it needs to learn how to be inclusive and representative of the world we live in. What I propose isn't pure dreaming. It can happen If you challenge people to form their own opinions about something, rather than accepting something at face value. If you help them demand more perhaps they will. If you show them that they're just as responsible for change as the people they expect change from, maybe progression will happen.

At the end of the day all aspects of fashion could use a jolt of inclusion. Not just of black models, but of Asian, Latina, curvy, etc. I think "blackface" is antiquated and insulting. I think it's ignorant to think if Louis Vuitton puts Afro's on white models that it's somehow "ghetto". There are so many things the fashion world gets wrong about what it means to be a woman of colour, and how we as a whole fit into fashion. And let's be honest here, they get plenty wrong about white women too. Even the regional issues of Vogue make me cringe. What is the purpose of having a Vogue Japan, if the majority of the models who grace the cover are white, or when putting an Indian model on the cover of Vogue India is some sort of feat? And don't get me started on Vogue Brasil, which needs a lesson in fashion and race. Armed with this information, I hope you can understand why I have concerns.

Yet there are parts of me that feels like the immediate applauding by some is because it's "Vogue" and what the brand represents. And perhaps that's the saddest part of all, that a brand that's been instrumental in ignoring black and curvy models, is now cheered on as a leader of change.

I don't have all the answers and I still think Vogue Italia is one the better versions of the Vogue brand. I'm sure I'll visit these sites from time to time, but none of this changes the aforementioned, so let's chat. I want to hear your opinions, because if this has done anything, it's taken the elephant in the room and asked her some questions.