Writes Huguenin:

[Jill Stuart] Company CEO Ron Curtis blamed a dearth of choices, and noted that two of the most popular black models, Jourdan Dunn and Liya Kebede, had been pursued for the show but booked for Calvin Klein in a competing time slot. "Of course we always try to have a diverse cast," Curtis says of this season's show. "but it isn't completed, so we really don't have a confirmation before the show, as things can change up until showtime."

Well that doesn't sound promising. (In stark contrast: menswear designer Carlos Campos will debut his women's collection with a lineup of all black models on Monday.) Simon Doonan joins those who want to see more diversity; he thinks it's more important than thin models. "The archetypes are extremely thin, but that will change," he says. "A much bigger issue is why they're not using more African-American girls."

Meanwhile, the struggle continues. "I saw about 400 girls, again, as I do every year," says Roger Padilha, creative director of MAO PR. "My exact number was 378, from 10 agencies. And of those girls, I'd say that I saw about eight black girls. Some… were not very good, so it isn't like I really have eight black girls to choose from. I have about three or four that made it into my 'yes' pile. So it's frustrating."

Sometimes when we call attention to the lack of minorities on the runways, a reader inevitably comments something like: "What does it matter? It's the designer's vision. Maybe his or her vision is of a leggy blonde." Just a reminder: It matters because fashion is global. The world looks to New York as a fashion leader. It matters because you shouldn't be not hired for a job because of the color of your skin. It matters because the world makes no sense if a black man can run for president but a black woman can't be seen wearing Jill Stuart on a catwalk.

Issues Of Race And Ethnicity Follow The Runway During Fashion Week [NY Daily News]
Simon Doonan: Lack of Diversity on the Runways Is a Bigger Problem Than Thin Models [NY Mag]

Earlier: On The Runways Of Milan, Color Just Wasn't Considered Chic
Fashion Week Runways Were Almost A Total Whitewash
Modeling Matriarch Continues To Demand Diversity On The Runways

I don't read Italian, but some of the headlines and captions have English words. One of the first stories on the "People" page is about Michelle Obama. The next piece is about Spike Lee's film, Miracle At St. Anna, which focuses on four black soldiers trapped behind enemy lines in WWII. There's also a picture of Naomi Campbell and Nelson Mandela with information about the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, and in the caption, the words "benefit girl." A few pages after that: A short piece about Essence magazine, followed by one about Ebony. It's kind of funny how between the pages of editorial content with black faces, the ads continue to have white faces. In any case, I had to scan the page about Ebony because Lena Horne on the March 1946 cover looks amazing.

Skipping ahead, you'll find a six-page ad for PINKO, starring Naomi Campbell. No matter how you feel about her, you cannot deny that the woman is astounding. She is 38 years old and still built like a thoroughbred.

There are eight pages of up and coming black models called "You Have A Go-See." Maybe it's for the people who claim there are no black models. All of the young women are gorgeous; I scanned three for you guys to check out.

The first big black model shoot is the beauty spread; it's shot by Dusan Reljin. Edgy. Not technically "pretty." The underlying subtext seems to be about the meaning of blackness, the meaning of black as a hue, as a skin tone. Not my cup of tea, but here are a few shots:

Question: Is blackface on a black face still blackface?

Oh! An ad for a company called Quodlibet uses a black model! It's so '80s your hair will crimp.

And so we come to the feature well. The first photo spread is the "Modern Luxe" story by Steven Meisel. Alek Wek, Alva Chinn, Sessilee Lopez, Ubah, Kiara Kabakubu, Noemie Lenoir, Vernoica Webb, Arlenis Sosa, Liya Kebede, Karen Alexander, Iman, Yasmin Warsame, Jourdan Dunn, Gail O'Neill and Chanel Iman appear. Many images have already been on the web, so I'm only scanning a few:

It's awesome to see Karen and Gail since they were in the issues of the fashion magazines I read as a pre-teen magazine junkie and I haven't seen them since.

Next is the shoot appropriately titled "There's Only One Naomi." The photographs (again by Steven Meisel) are like scenes from ordinary days in Miss Thing's life: Luxe, aloof, a little crazy.

After Naomi? Tyra.

Then 8 images of ensembles worn with crazy hats, called "Elegance As A Form."

The "How To Dazzle" shoot is 25+ pages of black and white photography; here are just a few images. In case you're curious about how to dazzle, the mag seems to suggest smoking, large jewelry, turbans and animal print.

Did you know that ANTM alum Toccara Jones was in this issue? She is smoking hot. Aside from the whole woman-is-an-object-like-a-car thing. And she is topless! Absolutely stunning. Gotta love that they included a "womanly" body.

There's one last "Black on Black" shoot, but it pales (heh) in comparison to the rest, so I didn't even bother scanning it. But after counting black models on runways and in magazines and finding them ignored by the fashion industry, this much-anticipated issue really delivered.

Is it a gimmick? Yes. But the fact remains that flipping through the issue and seeing page after page of gorgeous black women can act as a reminder to editors, stylists, modeling agencies and consumers — that beauty comes in many forms. It can be edgy, irreverent, weird, pretty, strong and avant-garde — while being black. While perhaps some may be upset that it took a "stunt" like this to throw a spotlight on the issue of the lack of diversity in magazines and runways, it's actually a beautiful souvenir, a keepsake to remember these troubled times. A protest song in photograph form. Never has the racism issue looked quite so stunning.

Related: Memo Pad [WWD]

On The Runways Of Milan, Color Just Wasn't Considered Chic
Earlier:

"I'm not trying to be provocative," she says. "It's just that, like everything else we do in fashion, the idea started from watching the shows. It's got to the point where I can't tell one model from another, except for [Liya] Kebede (pictured), who started me thinking. In the early Nineties, we knew all the models' names, recognised even the less famous ones. Liya was reminding me of Iman. And then I was in New York for Super Tuesday, seeing what was happening in America." Because how is it that we can have a black man running for president when only 1% of models on Milan's runways are black?

As previously discussed in summits held by model mogul Bethann Hardison, things were not always so bad. Black models were part of the fashion industry's fabric for decades. Telegraph has a quote by Brigid Keenan, from her book The Women We Wanted to Look Like, written in 1977 (when Naomi Sims, Donyale Luna, and Beverly Johnson were ubiquitous): "Women like [Naomi] Sims prove that the battle for black beauty has been fought and won."

Perhaps, as they say, the battle was won, but not the war. Another summit is being held in Paris this week, and the lack of black models in couture shows is the issue, reports Breitbart. There's a blame game, of course: "I asked the modelling agency for black girls for our next show but there simply aren't any," says Mario Lefranc, of the Lefranc-Ferrant design duo. An assistant to Jean-Paul Gaultier says: "It's really very difficult at the moment. There are no black models on the market, the agencies have none." But the agencies probably don't have any because designers and magazines won't book them, correct? At least one person was extremely frank: Renee Dujac-Cassou, head of Paris's Crystal model agency says:

"Blue-eyed blondes have always been the dream type. It's as simple as that. A beautiful African woman is not the dream type, neither is a Tibetan or a Chinese princess. [The number of non-white models] will always be extremely limited."

And here we have the true problem: People think that people don't like diversity. Experts claim that "the market" demands a uniform, pale, Euro-centric look. (For the record: I love to shop, I love fashion, I love diversity. Raise your hand if you can say the same.)

But what about going "all-black"? Like Italian Vogue? Or the recent Dsquared men's show, which featured an (almost) all-black cast of male models? Over on Stereohyped, a post reads, "As much as it delights me to glimpse the gorgeous pics in Italian Vogue and peep the gorgeous men in the Dsquared show, collectively, these efforts at diversity seem to be more like a passing fad instead of something that will actually change the industry. Sort of 'Let’s do all black guys this time! It will be fabulous!' Having all-black magazine issues and all-black fashion shows isn’t going to solve any problems." Agreed. But. Having all-black issues and runway shows does call attention to the problem. Having all-black issues and runway shows also gets black models working. Having all-black issues and runway shows allows editors, designers, stylists and mere mortals to see that, indeed, beautiful people come in all colors. That being in style or high fashion is not merely the territory of fifteen year old Estonian children. If black people can model, so can Asians! And brown people! While there's a danger in having an all-black cast becoming a fad or a trend, anything that calls into question the recent and pervasive whiteout in the fashion industry can't be bad. Now if we could just get our hands on that July issue…

Naomi Campbell, Iman And Jourdan Dunn Grace Vogue Italia's All Black Issue [Telegraph]
Is Going The “All-Black” Route A Superficial Answer To Fashion’s Deeper Problems? [Stereohyped]
Prêt-à-rapporter: A Black And White Vision Of Modelling [Telegraph]
Vogue Italia, Thanks Cathy [Fashionista]
Conspicuous by Their Presence [NY Times]
Beautiful Is Beautiful (slideshow) [NY Times]
Discrimination On The Catwalks? [Breitbart]

Earlier: On The Runways Of Milan, Color Just Wasn't Considered Chic
Fashion Week Runways Were Almost A Total Whitewash
Vogue's Not Racist; Three Black Models Prove It!
Is Prada To Blame For the Lack Of Black Models?
Where Are All The Black Models? Let's Start By Asking Anna Wintour
We're Still Looking For Black Models
Most Ladymags Continuing To Experience Whiteout Conditions
Modeling Matriarch Continues To Demand Diversity On The Runways
Black Fashion Industry Insiders Ask: Where Are The Black Models?
Will Italian Vogue Break With Fashion Mag Tradition, Feature Black Models?
Italian 'Vogue' Shocks, Awes, Makes Civil War Sexy

[Image by Steven Meisel for Italian Vogue via The New York Times.]

In an interview with Premiere magazine, Mena says of the decision to have cornrows: "It was in conjunction with [director] Stuart. I think we just wanted to kind of establish Brandi as a particular kind of girl from a particular place. I think that we felt that it would be, like, Providence, Rhode Island, with a mix of cultures. That's kind of what we were going for."

Stuart Gordon, whose films include Re-Animator, Castle Freak and Space Truckers, has the right to take creative license and make what ever kind of film he likes. But why didn't he use a black actress? Why was it okay to just put blonde, ethnically Estonian Suvari in cornrows? Why have Angelina Jolie play Marianne Pearl? There are so few black actresses in great, meaty roles (Jennifer Hudson in SATC does not count) and most of the big releases have male stars. There's a lack of parts for women in Hollywood altogether — do actresses of color have a chance if white women can just put on some corn rows (or a curly wig) and play "a particular kind of girl from a particular place" ?

Mena Suvari: 'I Never Had My Jaw Hit The Floor So Many Times' [LA Times]
Mena Suvari Gets 'Stuck' [Premiere]

Earlier: Coming Soon: 2008, The Summer Of The Dick Flick