2010: An Increase Towards More Diversity

4) Non-Caucasian models increase their visibility

Diversity in the fashion industry has always been a bone of contention with many people, including us. The world is not an all-white world, there are people of many sizes, colors, and shapes and that should be reflected when clothes that are sold worldwide are presented on the runways, in campaigns and in catalogues. Womenswear has long been more welcoming to ethnic models but that's only in comparison to menswear.

Other than Tyson Beckford in the late 1990s, not many non-white models can claim to have household name-status. However, on flip side, there are gorgeous women like Iman, Naomi Campbell, and Tyra Banks and up and comers like Chanel Iman, Jourdan Dunn, Joan Smalls, and Lui Wen who add to the diversity of womenswear.

However, we did see an uptick in the male modeling world in terms of more diversified runways and campaigns this year. We think that's mostly due to Riccardo Tisci and his muses, Jonathan Marquez and Paolo Rolden. Though Givenchy is not the only house that featured models of color, the list also contains DKNY, with Corey Baptiste, and Calvin Klein Collection with David Agbodji.

There was also a rise in editorial work in major magazines for models of color, such as Borough Boys and Tokyo Tribe in VMAN. Models such as Dominique Hollington and Nate Gill, respectively, continue to walk the runways of Jeremy Scott and appear in the campaign for Y-3.

The fashion industry is not going to change overnight but the increased exposure of these models is a great sign towards a more diverse modeling world. Though a point has to be made that maybe it's not the fashion industry that needs to change but it could be the general public's lack of interest in ethnic models that's the problem. Therefore, editors and casting agents don't cast black, Asian, or Hispanic models in major campaigns.