The Trend of Racial Ambiguity and Representation
The trend of racial ambiguity in the world of high fashion has been an indication of how the industry has perceived race, or purposefully attempted to not perceive it. The fetishization of ambiguity proves that many industry leaders wanted their models to be diverse - but only to an acceptable white standard. Purposefully straying away from Black, Indian, Chinese, or any identifiable ethnic minority allowed for models to be nonconforming with exotic features while still fitting into the brand’s “aesthetic”. Moreover, an attractive quality surrounding racially ambiguous models is the inability for them to be placed into a category or mold, therefore adding mystique and layers of uncertainty.
Perhaps our cultural desire to know where people are from and categorize them stems from our ingrained racial biases on how we perceive both ourselves and the people we interact with. Race is everywhere, and as we as a society move towards being able to have open discussions about systemic racism, the trend of solely accepting racially ambiguous models seems problematic.
Historically, there have been very few places for people of colour and Black models to be accepted in luxury Causasian brands. Successful Black supermodels were so rare that their existence was essentially an anomaly, as the industry treated them as abnormal but beautiful entities rather than part of the new normal. Models are still fighting for representation in the world of fashion, and skin lightening and editing continue to be hurtful practices that reveal a desire for people of colour to adhere to white or European standards of beauty.
As models like Ashka Pratt, Carissa Pinkston, Sara Somogi, and Havana Liu all started to permeate the world of high fashion, the one thing these models had in common was the inability to be placed or classified to a specific country or ethnicity. Again - diversity started to be accepted, but only if models also fit the North American standard of beauty. An amalgamation of racialized and white features was desired, rather than seeking models with darker skin and an easily pinned racial background.
Bethan Hardinson, former model and model agency owner, has been vocal about the role casting directors have regarding representation. She states that one of the major issues with casting a Black model is that it becomes political for the brand - which should not be the case. Here lies one of the major issues when it comes to representation: the fine line between promoting diversity for monetary gain or to promote a political message and actually promoting diversity because it’s the right thing to do is often difficult to distinguish.
Moving forward, diversity cannot solely mean accepting racially ambiguous models. This fetishization and narrow acceptance proves that true diversity is still to come for many high fashion brands.
By: Alysha Mohamed
IG: @alyshamohamed