In the July 2008 issue of Vogue Italia, an Italian fashion magazine, all the models will be black! I thought I would never live to see such a thing! As long as I can remember Vogue has been telling the world that thin white women are the most beautiful – and most of the world seems to believe it. But now this! It makes my heart sing!
I do not read Vogue and my wife assures me I have no fashion sense, but I still want my own copy when it comes out in June! I know it sounds kind of nuts, but it is almost as if the world will be black for a day.
The cover will fold out and show Liya Kebede, Sessilee Lopez, Jourdan Dunn and Naomi Campbell.
So far we know at least these models will be in the magazine:
- Chanel Iman
- Iman
- Naomi Campbell (20 pictures)
- Alek Wek
- Alva Chin
- Arlenis Sosa Pena
- Gail O’Neil
- Karen Alexander
- Tyra Banks
- Veronica Webb
- Yasmin Warsame
- Liya Kebede
- Jourdan Dunn
- Sessilee Lopez
- Toccara Jones
- Pat Cleveland
Jourdan Dunn said not too long ago about race and fashion:
London’s not a white city, so why should all our castings be white? I go to castings and see several black and Asian girls, then I get to the show and look around and there’s just me and maybe one other coloured face. They just don’t get picked. I hope it’s because the designer just didn’t think they were good enough as a model, but I don’t know.
Franca Sozzoni, the editor, agrees. When asked why she is doing an all-black Vogue, she said: “Because nobody is using black girls. I see so many beautiful girls and they were complaining that they are not used enough.”
When asked what if the issue fails because not enough Italians buy it, she said, “Maybe in our country it is not the best idea. But I don’t care. I think it is not my problem if they don’t like it – it’s their problem.” She is great!
Steven Meisel, who has already shot all the pictures for the issue and will be given 100 pages, is all for it too. He is one of Vogue’s top photographers, the one who did Madonna’s “Sex” book in 1992. He hopes an all-black Vogue will lead fashion magazines and designers to use more black models.
Iman, who probably has the best insight on this, is not getting her hopes up:
I still don’t like us (black models) to be a caricature. They’ll think, “Okay, we did it.” And then they’re done with it, and we’ll have to wait till next year … When you see commercials and movies and every other form of art in terms of entertainment, you never have this conversation. So it is so outdated. I can only say that one of the reasons is that models have never had unions, so there is no one to say, “This isn’t right.”
It is set to come out in Europe on June 26th, the following week worldwide.
Here is a video showing 49 pictures:
(video no longer available)
– Abagond, 2008.
See also:
- A blow by blow account of the issue at the blog Beautiful Also Are the Souls of My Black Sisters
- Jezebel.com’s guided tour of the all-black Vogue
- Will there ever be an African Vogue? – at Racialicious
- black fashion models
- race and beauty
- white beauty: a brief history
- magazine
- Black women are beautiful
- posts on models who will appear:
Thanks so much for this info. I emailed all of my friends and told them to be on the look out for this issue.
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I can’t wait to get my hands on that particular issue of Italian Vogue. My only lament is why isn’t American Vogue doing this since Blacks are 13% of America’s population. They could have done this awhile ago but chose not to do so.
Stephanie
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It is a shame that America was beat out, but I am not surprised. America has more hang-ups about race. It was much harder for Naomi to get on American covers than French or British ones, for example.
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I can’t wait either. This issue will cost 15.00 but will be well worth it.
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I have my money and I am ready to go on this. There is also a blakc model on the cover of French Vogue for July 08.
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Wow. So excited! It’s about freaking time!!! How do we in the U.S. get a copy, will they sell it at a Barnes and Nobles? Have to get it, I don’t even read Vogue but for this, I definitely will.
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Good question! If I find out I will put it into the second paragraph of the post.
Since it is bound to sell way better in America than anywhere else, I have got to imagine it will be on sale across the country somehow. American Vogue would do well to push it down their own distribution network. Not that they always do the sensible thing…
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Has anyone heard of TRACE magazine, their mag is very multicultural, every year they do the BLACK GIRLS RULE ISSUE, full of photos and features about inspiring, cool women of all generations. I think this years issue will be out in august, its quite hard to find but I always look forward to it.
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Hi
I only heard about the all black issue of Italian Vogue 2 weeks agao. I have been trying to get hold of a copy since to no avail. Can anyone point me in the right direction of obtaining a copy.
regards
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Try to reserve a copy at Barnes & Noble. It hit America in the second week in July 2008 but it has been hard to get.
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is it hard to get because its selling so good or just from plain ‘unavailability”
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It is outselling any other Vogue in history, from what I understand. New York as far as I can tell is completely out of any copies.
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This shows that Black sells and well at that!
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HOW DO I GET A COPY OF THIS MAGAZINE.
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When you find out, tell me! They were on sale last July but then sold out almost instantly. I never wound up getting one myself.
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Wow. They had a bunch, sealed tightly in plastic, at a local Barnes & Noble. I’m surprised that NYC-ers were having a hard time locating a copy. How come you guys didn’t try to the internet?
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It seems it took a week or less for them to sell out in New York.
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This article doesn’t prais the efforts of Vogue Italy.
http://www.nowpublic.com/style/not-all-black-vogue-after-all
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