It's 2016. We’d like to think this is an age of acceptance of all races, cultures, sizes, ages, genders and sexual orientations, but it’s doesn’t seem like the fashion industry got the memo. The Fashion Spot just released their latest diversity report, this time with a focus on the Spring 2016 campaigns, and the numbers are less than exemplary. The report includes a total of 236 different campaigns with a range of 422 models, to offer up a summary of the industry’s improvements, shortcoming and outstanding issues. While the numbers are discouraging, TFS did note some major milestones, like Beyoncé casting a model with muscular dystrophy and H&M tapping Caitlyn Jenner as the face of their new sports line.
One of the most disparaging categories in the report was that of race. Of the 236 campaigns included, 78.2 percent of the models were white, a 6.5 percent drop from Fall 2015. Black models came in second with only 8.3 percent, followed by Asian models at four percent and Latina models at 3.8 percent. While Asian models saw a drop from last year’s 6.8 percent, both black and Latina models saw a rise in representation from 4.4 percent and 1.7 percent respectively. This year saw an improvement overall, as women of color made up 21.8 percent of campaigns, but the most in-demand models, used for multiple campaigns, were primarily white. Of the 14 most-booked models, only two were women of color. TFS also noted that not a single Middle Eastern model was featured this season. Versace, Saint Laurent, Miu Miu and BCBGMaxAzria were some of the worst offenders, casting entirely white models this season.
While it feels that this year was a victory for plus-sized models, particularly with Ashley Graham being named the first plus-size Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover model, women over a size 12 were almost entirely left out of this season’s campaigns. Of the 422 models in the report, six were considered plus size, making a total 1.4 percent of the campaign season. Of these 1.4 percent, all but one were cast for mass market, plus-sized labels, the exception being Aerie. With their Aerie Real campaign they included unretouched photos of a diverse group of models of all sizes to showcase “real beauty.”
The short lived victory of plus-sized models was nothing compared with that of older models who were having a bit of a hot season last year. During the Fall 2016 Fashion Week, women over 50 walked the runway 11 times, but only five older models were featured in this season’s campaigns. Of those five, two were celebrities: Sharon Stone was once more the face of Airfield and Pat Cleveland, a former supermodel, modeled for Marc Jacobs. It’s also noted in the report that Jacobs is one of the most inclusive designers when it comes to diversity.
Transgender models were completely left out of the Spring 2016 ads. At zero percent the industry has taken a step backward from the few transgender models that were featured last season. Even the Fall 2016 runway had a total of eight transgender castings. TFS does note that Stav Strashko, an androgynous, Ukrainian-born, Israeli-raised model, was featured in Diesel’s Spring 2016 campaign sporting clothing from both the men’s and women’s line, indicating a break in gender norms. "Progress is being made when it comes to racial diversity," noted Jennifer Davidson, managing editor for The Fashion Spot, in a statement. "However, we were disappointed to find that plus-size models, women over age 50 and transgender models had far fewer appearances than Fall 2015. A confusing setback given the amount of media attention these demographics received this year."
