Diversity is more than a trend

sikenomics.com
Year after year I’ve sat in the audience loving the stylish brilliance of the West 18th Street Fashion Show. Last weekend I walked the runway. It was exciting, frustrating and one serious rush.
My friends Beth Guinta and Phil Shafer of Sikenomics came together to make a statement: Street wear — T-shirts, jeans and sneakers — is fashion.

We knew we’d stand out in the couture crowd. Street wear on one of the most prominent runways in the Midwest? Of course we would. But we also stood out for another reason. Model after model, we were all brown.

“I knew we were the only hip-hop clothing line, and we represent something relevant and homegrown,” says Phil, 29. “I wanted to do something I hadn’t seen before. I wasn’t putting pretty models on stage just to do it. I’m brown, I’m mixed and I wanted the show to be representative of who I am — not black or white, but brown. I could have chosen a rainbow effect, but to me, this was more genuine.”

The fashion blackout has been a serious topic of discussion this year, particularly after the lack of diversity at Fashion Weeks in New York and London.

Despite the more than $20 billion that black women in America spend on clothes, models of color have long been tokens. Asians, Latinos and blacks are treated as trends. Sometimes they are in. Often they are out.

But as my friends and I worked the 18th Street catwalk, a show known for taking chances and going against the grain, the crowd went wild.

It sounded like a football game out there. They loved the clothes, but some of them loved the social statement, too.

“It really hit me by the third model, that there were no white models,” says Meghan Whelan, 27, a fashion lover in the outdoor audience. “I noticed other people realizing, too, and it was something that was very necessary to me. I pay attention to the fashion world at large, and it is very whitewashed. It makes very little room for women of color.”

BET recently did a special on the industry blackout, where models and fashion editors alike openly discussed the discrimination.

Solutions run the gamut. Some say don’t buy from designers who don’t employ diverse models. Others say the fashion powers-that-be have to make a statement that looks can come and go but can’t be based on skin color.

In July, Italian Vogue magazine will make a statement and shed more light on the issue: It will feature only black models, and every article will relate to black women in arts and entertainment.

Meghan, who is white, says this is not just an issue for people of color; everyone should see a more inclusive fashion industry.

“I think it’s important that the media and the fashion world represent all people. It’s important that we see different cultures, colors and perspectives.”

I never expected to feel a sense of pride participating in a fashion show. But I did. We were just part of one little collection, but as we left the stage on jam-packed 18th Street, the message was loud, proud and embraced: Diversity is beautiful. It reflects the world we live in.

Jeneé Osterheldt’s column runs in FYI on Tuesday and Saturday. To reach her, call 816-234-4380 or e-mail josterheldt@kcstar.com.