Vogue Italia’s ‘black issue’

Vogue is back in the news, though this time for more positive reasons than French Vogue‘s fur promotion. What’s creating the buzz is this issue of Italian Vogue.

Vogue Italia‘s ‘A Black Issue’ featuring 18 new and established black models, is breaking its own sales records around the world. Fashionistas and magazine collectors are rushing to news-stands to bag their copy of what just might be an industry-changing issue.

The issue’s fashion shoots feature all black models, including Naomi Campbell, Liya Kebede, Sessilee Lopez and Jourdan Dunn, the 18-year-old spotted by a Storm model scout in a West London branch of Primark last year. Crikey that girl’s beautiful.

Uber-photographer Steven Miesel takes part too. His shoot, Modern Luxe, features amongst others Iman, Veronica Webb and Alec Wek. He does a separate 25-plus page shoot with Tyra Banks.

As well as the big names we all know about, there are also eight pages of up-and-coming black models, making a clear statement that the extraordinary focus on white faces in fashion magazines, in store windows and on the catwalks is increasingly looking out of date and unethical.

Change to a kinder publishing ethic might be underway though, as according to The Observer yesterday, Vogue Italia‘s ‘black issue’ has been so popular that publisher Conde Nast has had to do extra print runs. Let’s hope its success might prompt more fashion industry decision-makers to use more non-white models.

See images from Vogue Italia ‘A Black Issue’ on Jezebel