International supermodel and fashion icon Iman is shedding light on the struggles women of color have working in a white dominated fashion industry according to New York Magazine. One of the major problems Iman touches upon is that when black models go to open castings for fashion week runway shows they are not given the same opportunities to work solely because of their skin color. “We’re not using black models this season.’ Like it’s a category – like we’re not doing denim this season. It’s very upsetting,'” says Iman about what young up and coming models are experiencing.
The new face of Ralph Lauren’s spring campaign, Ubah Hassan, is from Iman’s native country of Somalia and shares that she believes the root problem lies with the stylists and casting directors determining what look is “in” each season and it usually is not black. Things are looking brighter on the catwalk due to both President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama promoting change, breaking preconceived perceptions of people of color and showcasing our marketability.-QS