Vogue Australia's December issue made me upset but at the same time one must recognize the flawless styling (referring to the Kate Fogarty shoot). Isabel Lucas covers this issue and in big letters it's printed "Fashion Gone Wild". I was shocked that they had two very extensive editorials shot in Africa, but it wasn't this which got me on my toes. It would have been fine if they had gone with only "Isabel in Africa" but doing another shoot without having an African model representing the country (whichever they photographed in) isn't particularly wise. We all know that "white" models dominate, which means that they're hired for most photo-jobs in the industry's biggest magazines. Few mention this and fashion bloggers are often criticized for just not criticizing the papers out there.
After Interview Magazine's issue last year which caused quite the stir with Daria Werbowy posing among a group of African models, many wrote that the editorial showed Daria as a star among "random" models who were just accessories, and one got the feeling that there were racist undertones. Refinery29 wrote at the time something that is very true: "Fashion is at its core a political and social product—how power relationships are set up in editorials can speak volumes." (Tip! Watch this video clip with Nick Knight at ShowStudio.com about "political fashion.")
I can see how the people behind Vogue Australia might have been thinking that they were on this beautiful continent, where they had their photographer Max Doyle on location and their fashion editor acting as a stylist, and when they had traveled so far why don't do two photo-shoots, but still they could have chosen another model other than their favorite Katie Fogarty.
For my Swedish readers, two articles you must check: here1 and this one.
