There were also a few Asian models on the catwalks this year - Du Juan and Han Jin seemed to be popular choices. And Chanel Iman was a splash, as usual, although I find her excessively youthful look disturbing. Despite having recently turned a whopping 18, she always looks barely thirteen to me, and she's not alone. This season it seemed to distract from the clothes, particularly for designers like Carolina Herrera who cater to a more sophisticated crowd. Granted, Herrera's line was full of confusing turns that wouldn't look good on anyone - fur waistlines? - but most of the gamine models looked like they were playing dress-up in their mothers' clothes.

Related tangentially to Fashion Week, I'm always pleased that Project Runway features a very diverse model pool as well as a diverse array of designers. The show has introduced a lot of ordinary Americans to the inside workings of the fashion industry and, over time, it may be influential in its own right.

But diversity is not just skin deep, don't you think? Project Runway also features 'everyday women' in many of their challenges.

Are there any designers using 'plus size' models for their couture collections? That would be quite amazing to see, wouldn't it?

In response to DVF having to write a letter (and obviously Varvatos did not care), its a shame a letter even had to be written.

John Galliano and Jean Paul Gaultier have both used plus-size models in shows. And we're talking plus-plus-size. Makes one wonder if it was to poke fun at the beanpoles or to make the larger models look grotesque.

I'll count the fashion industry as diverse when I see true plus-size models in the magazines and on the runway. To me, the thick but svelte size 10s don't count as plus size. Show me a woman who is a size 24 and is about 5'5 with a muffin top, short legs and a double chin. That'll make the industry diverse.

You write a blog posting about the lack of diversity in the fashion industry and your focus is on skin color? Good grief, are you blind?

Once again I comment, an industry that is so overwhelmingly gay and woman and so unwilling to seek out beauty in its many hues. And yet "we" are happy to have a candidate that is not running as a "black" candidate. America's racial schizophrenia runs deep. Interesting that Francisco Costa's Calvin Klein was held up as a major offender, the name sake was notoriously anti-ethnic. To be continued!

Robin-
Where are the Fashion articles? This blog entry is not enough. What did you think of Rodarte? Marc Jacobs, Ralph, Donna etc. Come on Ms thing, you didn't get a Pulitzer for your blog entries. We need your feedback.... Im Dieing here,

Sorry-
Just realized you now have to scroll all the way down to acess your articles.

This blog written about skin color ignores the challanges of creating diversity in a niche market. We would like to read constructive positive statements coming from the desks of The Washington Post writers.

Thank you for calling attention to this. As an African-American woman who loves fashion, I can't find it in my heart (or wallet) any way to buy clothing from designers who treat me like a non-entity. And it's more than a little pathetic that a column even has to be written on this subject in this day and age.

Shouldn't diversity in all phases of life just be a given by now?

Given the massive consumer buying power of the Black community in America (particularly with fashion), it is alarming that so many key designers elected to remove Black models from the runway.

Kudos Robin for keeping this discussion active in the fashion discourse.

Thanks for very interesting article. btw. I really enjoyed reading all of your posts. It's interesting to read ideas, and observations from someone else's point of view... makes you think more.
So please keep up the great work. Greetings.

Thanks for very interesting article. btw. I really enjoyed reading all of your posts. It's interesting to read ideas, and observations from someone else's point of view... makes you think more.
So please keep up the great work. Greetings.

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