When you think of the fashion industry what comes to mind? Glamor? Runway shows? Celebrities? Unobtainable standards? Racism? Sexism? This paper will focus on the lack of diversity in the industry and its effects on the general public. The fashion industry has a large lack of diversity, both in terms of the models used to showcase clothing and the designers who create it. While progress has been made in recent years, there is still a long way to go before the industry can be called diverse. The standard in the industry has been a tall, thin, white woman. This narrow definition of beauty has excluded people of color and plus-size models, from the runway and advertising campaigns. Even when there are efforts to include more diverse models, they are often relegated to "token" status, appearing in a handful of shows or campaigns but not becoming a regular fixture in the industry or even leading to cultural appropriation and further discrimination towards marginalized communities. The fashion industry is not inclusive of bodies outside of the beauty standard which results in insecurity, marginalization, and cultural appropriation.
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Companies preach diversity and inclusivity to draw in new consumers but in the end, the models they use in fashion weeks and advertisements are thin and white. This further perpetuates the idea that brands and designers can use plus-sized or models of color simply as a “token” and not a part of everyday operations. Some believe that there are economic reasons behind the industry’s discriminatory casting practices. While “it used to be about fashion,” it has turned into being “about business.” This argument is based on the idea that models of color are not hired more because they are less likely to sell The more prevalent argument, however, appears to be that in fashion, race is viewed as any other aesthetic feature, such as hair and eye color. (Whitewashed Runways: Employment Discrimination in the Fashion Modeling Industry, Vanessa Padul, 7) People of color are not an “aesthetic” companies can use when it's convenient to an audience. The same can be said about plus-sized models, casting companies use plus-sized or models of color when it helps sell a product, or falsely push the narrative of diversity without further action. When it comes down to it both are treated unfairly.
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