The series of week-long fashion shows in the four major fashion capitals may have just concluded, but we have already been greeted with good news in terms of inclusivity this week. The New York Fashion Week presenting designer Spring collections and running from September 6 all the way to September 14 has been celebrated as the most diverse of its installments as of yet. That’s not just a bold claim; The Fashion Spot actually backs this up with statistics for this year compared to estimates in past seasons..
There’s no denying that there is still plenty of room for improvement in diversity when it comes to fashion, with some pointing out that it should have been prioritizing representation since the beginning. Still, this is a welcome development and a win for New York, which has traditionally been the least homogeneous in its presentations among the Big Four. This year’s Spring collections have been momentous not only for renowned designers returning to the American fashion capital, names that include Proenza Schouler and Rodarte, but also for its labels and their team’s efforts to mix things up in the casting department.
In the New York Fashion Week’s 76 major shows, models of color almost accounted for half of the castings, which is a great leap since 2015. This is also the fourth time that every scheduled designer featured at least one non-white model in the runway. Pyer Moss and Claudia Lee are reported to both have 100% of its models to be people of color.
More than half of the top booked models also happen to be non-white, including the top spot occupied by Yoon Young Bae who appeared in 12 shows, although she shares the position with Kiki Willems. The rest of the list include Adut Akech, Adesuwa Aighewi, Anyelina Rosa, Selena Forrest, Chen Siqi and Sora Choi.
More than racial diversity
It is a refreshing sight to see more ethnicities on the runway, but inclusivity is more than just race; there is also the question of age, gender, and body shape that should all be taken into consideration. It should be noted that not one of the most booked models were considered to depart from the expected size, age, and sexual orientation in the profession.
It may take some time before we begin seeing more diverse models in the list, but there were still small victories in the different aspects mentioned. Take for instance plus-sized models: for the Spring collections, 49 were hired to walk. This is almost double the numbers for the last two consecutive New York Fashion Weeks, although designers that are welcoming more shapes and sizes to strut on their shows remain mostly the same. Another gain is in the fact that more than half of these models were also people of color. The same could not be said for age or gender, but we’ll get to that a little later.
Chromat leads the statistics when it comes to being the most size-inclusive label, with models walking while clad in shirts that bore “Sample Size” prints. Rihanna’s much talked about show, Savage x Fenty, follows Chromat in the rankings at 12 full sized ladies. Christian Siriano, previously praised for promoting size inclusivity through his shows, comes at third with eight plus-sized models, some of which include Marquita Pring, Sabina Karlsson and Candice Huffine.
There are still great strides to be taken when it comes to age and gender. Out of the plus-sized models to grace the occasion, only two were over 50. What’s more, the total number does not even make up for the lack of older models in larger sizes; there are only 12 for the entire season.
Things are slightly better for gender inclusivity. The Fashion Spot says that there is are 53 appearances among models who identify as non-binary and transgender. This is an improvement from the last season’s 33 talents. Besides the numbers, it is also remarkable that Spring 2019 saw more drag queens in New York’s shows. Opening Ceremony is perhaps the most memorable this season, conducting its presentation as a drag show. Sasha Velour, winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race, hosted the show while LGBT models and drag queens sashayed through the runway.
Image credits: Angela Weiss, Getty Images, Noam Galal, Harald Austad, Fernanda Calfat, Rebecca Smeyne/The New York Times, Aleksandr Dyskin/Shutterstock.com
