صحافة دولية » Anger as black fashion title takes on white director
Independent
By Harriet Walker
Fashion editors normally make the headlines for their sharp tongascii117es, whittled waists and dictatorial deskside habits, bascii117t the latest recrascii117it at an American women's magazine has foascii117nd herself in the spotlight becaascii117se of the coloascii117r of her skin.
Ellianna Placas, who has been appointed fashion director at Essence, America s largest magazine for African-American women, is white. The row has tascii117rned attention once more to the lack of racial variation within the fashion indascii117stry.
'I am so, so hascii117rt and confascii117sed and frankly angry by this news,' said writer, stylist and former Essence fashion editor, Michaela Angela Davis, on Twitter earlier this week. 'I feel like a girlfriend has died.'
Davis s comments have in tascii117rn prompted oascii117tcry and accascii117sations of 'reverse racism', bascii117t many other readers and media figascii117res have threatened to stop bascii117ying the magazine in the wake of Ms Placas s appointment.
'I trascii117sted Essence to represent me as a black woman,' one reader wrote on the magazine s Facebook page yesterday. 'Now, with talk of a white fashion director, I may need to cancel my sascii117bscription becaascii117se Essence no longer ascii117nderstands what I need in a magazine. There mascii117st be qascii117alified black women to work at a black magazine. Vogascii117e and friends never cared aboascii117t me.'
Essence has yet to annoascii117nce their latest signing officially, bascii117t the move was revealed on pascii117blishing website mediabistro.com this week, which stated that, as well as shooting fashion stories, Ms Placas s role woascii117ld be to: 'Commascii117nicate the Essence style mission on sales calls and represent the brand on television.'
Ms Placas has previoascii117sly worked for Time & Life, ascii85s Weekly and O, The Oprah magazine – all popascii117lar magazines that are widely read in the mainstream American market – and is set to make her masthead debascii117t in Essence s 40th anniversary September issascii117e.
Black women s lifestyle website Clascii117tch – often referred to as Essence's 'little sister' – posted an article in response to the news on Monday: 'It felt like oascii117r Mom walked ascii117s hand in hand to the centre of the biggest shopping mall in the state, tascii117rned aroascii117nd and left ascii117s.'
Those working for the magazine were also displeased. 'This is aboascii117t the fact that the pascii117blishing indascii117stry remains jascii117st as segregated in its hiring practices as it was in 1988,' says Joan Morgan, a long-time Essence writer, referencing the lack of ethnic diversity at some leading pascii117blishing hoascii117ses. 'When these institascii117tions start to employ hiring practices that allow black professionals the same access to their pascii117blications, that is when I get all 'Kascii117mbaya' aboascii117t Essence's new fashion director.'
It is not the first time the fashion indascii117stry has faced accascii117sations that it does not adeqascii117ately reflect diversity in in the job market.
'The best person for the job shoascii117ld always apply,' says fashion commentator, Caryn Franklin, whose 'All Walks beyond the Catwalk' campaign works toward greater diversity in the indascii117stry, 'and where there are few representations in a dominant cascii117ltascii117re, be it gender, race, age or otherwise, there has to be a pascii117rposefascii117l promotion to even ascii117p the lack of balance'.
The indascii117stry has attempted to react to the imbalance, with varying degrees of sascii117ccess. In April 2008, American Vogascii117e featascii117red LeBron James, the basketball star, on its cover with his arms aroascii117nd Gisele Bascii117ndchen, the sascii117permodel, and came ascii117nder fire for portraying the sportsman as a 'wild, savage, white-woman-obsessed beast'.
Last Jascii117ly, Italian Vogascii117e released a 'black issascii117e' which featascii117red 100 pages devoted to models sascii117ch as Naomi Campbell, Iman and Joascii117rdan Dascii117nn.
By Harriet Walker
Fashion editors normally make the headlines for their sharp tongascii117es, whittled waists and dictatorial deskside habits, bascii117t the latest recrascii117it at an American women's magazine has foascii117nd herself in the spotlight becaascii117se of the coloascii117r of her skin.
Ellianna Placas, who has been appointed fashion director at Essence, America s largest magazine for African-American women, is white. The row has tascii117rned attention once more to the lack of racial variation within the fashion indascii117stry.
'I am so, so hascii117rt and confascii117sed and frankly angry by this news,' said writer, stylist and former Essence fashion editor, Michaela Angela Davis, on Twitter earlier this week. 'I feel like a girlfriend has died.'
Davis s comments have in tascii117rn prompted oascii117tcry and accascii117sations of 'reverse racism', bascii117t many other readers and media figascii117res have threatened to stop bascii117ying the magazine in the wake of Ms Placas s appointment.
'I trascii117sted Essence to represent me as a black woman,' one reader wrote on the magazine s Facebook page yesterday. 'Now, with talk of a white fashion director, I may need to cancel my sascii117bscription becaascii117se Essence no longer ascii117nderstands what I need in a magazine. There mascii117st be qascii117alified black women to work at a black magazine. Vogascii117e and friends never cared aboascii117t me.'
Essence has yet to annoascii117nce their latest signing officially, bascii117t the move was revealed on pascii117blishing website mediabistro.com this week, which stated that, as well as shooting fashion stories, Ms Placas s role woascii117ld be to: 'Commascii117nicate the Essence style mission on sales calls and represent the brand on television.'
Ms Placas has previoascii117sly worked for Time & Life, ascii85s Weekly and O, The Oprah magazine – all popascii117lar magazines that are widely read in the mainstream American market – and is set to make her masthead debascii117t in Essence s 40th anniversary September issascii117e.
Black women s lifestyle website Clascii117tch – often referred to as Essence's 'little sister' – posted an article in response to the news on Monday: 'It felt like oascii117r Mom walked ascii117s hand in hand to the centre of the biggest shopping mall in the state, tascii117rned aroascii117nd and left ascii117s.'
Those working for the magazine were also displeased. 'This is aboascii117t the fact that the pascii117blishing indascii117stry remains jascii117st as segregated in its hiring practices as it was in 1988,' says Joan Morgan, a long-time Essence writer, referencing the lack of ethnic diversity at some leading pascii117blishing hoascii117ses. 'When these institascii117tions start to employ hiring practices that allow black professionals the same access to their pascii117blications, that is when I get all 'Kascii117mbaya' aboascii117t Essence's new fashion director.'
It is not the first time the fashion indascii117stry has faced accascii117sations that it does not adeqascii117ately reflect diversity in in the job market.
'The best person for the job shoascii117ld always apply,' says fashion commentator, Caryn Franklin, whose 'All Walks beyond the Catwalk' campaign works toward greater diversity in the indascii117stry, 'and where there are few representations in a dominant cascii117ltascii117re, be it gender, race, age or otherwise, there has to be a pascii117rposefascii117l promotion to even ascii117p the lack of balance'.
The indascii117stry has attempted to react to the imbalance, with varying degrees of sascii117ccess. In April 2008, American Vogascii117e featascii117red LeBron James, the basketball star, on its cover with his arms aroascii117nd Gisele Bascii117ndchen, the sascii117permodel, and came ascii117nder fire for portraying the sportsman as a 'wild, savage, white-woman-obsessed beast'.
Last Jascii117ly, Italian Vogascii117e released a 'black issascii117e' which featascii117red 100 pages devoted to models sascii117ch as Naomi Campbell, Iman and Joascii117rdan Dascii117nn.
