Britain's Missing Top Model, which premiered in the UK in the summer of 2008, began airing on BBC America last night. All of the 8 contestants are white. All of the 8 contestants are thin. All of the 8 contestants are conventionally pretty. Each one of them says, at some point in the first episode, that they think they're attractive. These are not women with confidence issues. (Debbie, who lost most of her arm in a bus crash, has posed for Playboy.) The judges make some good points — one says, being disabled is part of the world, "Why shouldn't it be part of fashion?" But while watching these women — all pleasing to the human eye — I thought, well, it's not much of a stretch to find beautiful people beautiful. Wouldn't an eye-opening show feature women with cleft palates or port-wine stains — visible differences which tend to make people uncomfortable?

Then again, maybe the fact that they're all pretty is the point? These are not your "average" disabled people, just as models are not "average" people. The contestants want a shot in an industry in which aesthetics is everything, so, naturally, they're going to be aesthetically pleasing. Maybe the point is: "I'm pretty, I just happen to have one arm, but don't let that stop you from hiring me to model designer shoes." The problem is, that doesn't make for very dramatic television.

Take Debbie, for instance. when asked if she'd show off her disability, she was totally fine with it. So her photo shoot was pretty boring.

And Sophie, who survived a what she describes as a "violent" car accident and is paralyzed, also had a boring (gorgeous, but anti-climatic) photo shoot.

At the critique, the judges said one nice thing and one critical thing about every model's picture, which Jenny from Seattle found frustrating. "Don't patronize me," she spat.

The judges couldn't even agree on what the show is really about. Two deaf women are in the final 8, but the judges wondered: Shouldn't the winner be visibly disabled? Or isn't that part of the point: Not all disabilities are visible? In the argument, the disabled judged fought for a girl with a visible disability, but was outvoted by the other able-bodied judges, and the contestant the disabled judge liked was sent home, and the judges had to watch her limp out the door. Why not listen to the one disabled judge? Dumb.

Frankly, the show would be more successful, more interesting if it followed one disabled model and her trials and triumphs in trying to get work — as well as how she was encountered in the fashion industry. Because watching the judges niggle and nit-pick over eight beautiful women is tiresome.

In July 2008 a reader spotted a Nordstrom catalog featuring a model in a wheelchair. I'd much rather watch a series about how this came to be and follow as someone, Michael-Moore style, asks execs why we haven't seen other catalogs/ad campaigns do the same. Maybe the world is "missing" a "top" model to tell that story.

Earlier: On BBC Show, Disabled Models Learn Same Lessons As Any Other Models

The reality series originally aired last year summer in the UK (if you want to know who the winner was, click here). As Alessandra Stanley writes for The New York Times, though it supposedly is "designed to raise the profile and confidence of disabled women," it actually "makes a spectacle of their hunger for acceptance."

Though many of the contestants have visible physical disabilities — one is in a wheelchair, one is missing an arm — one young lady, Kellie, is deaf. Apparently that's a boon for a model. Stanley writes:

If anything, the absence of communication may even be an asset in the modeling world. Mr. Phang says to a photographer, "It's kind of nice working with deaf girls because there's not those sort of irritating questions."

But the Times makes it sound like Britian's Missing Top Model doesn't actually break down any barriers in modeling — it's really the same old, same old: Thin is in.

"Rebecca's disability didn't cause me any problems," a photographer says after shooting Rebecca, 27, a stunning brunette who was born with a deformed hip and wears a prosthetic leg. "It was just the fact she's not really in shape. Most models are pretty toned, slimmer, more agile."

Disabled, And Seeking Acceptance in Fashion [NY Times]

Earlier: You Wanna Be On Top
TV Show Searches For Disabled Model
Related: Britian's Missing Top Model [ONTD]

First Heat
The Champion: Vogue Moddle
Form: 8
Height: 7
Hair: 8
Expression: 5
Believability: 5
Fractured Ankle Factor: -5

Overall score: 28

First Heat
The Challenger: Michelle Obama
Form: 9
Height: 7
Hair: 6
Expression: 7
Believability: 10
Fractured Ankle Factor: 0

Overall score: 39

FIRST HEAT RESULTS:
Advantage: Michelle Obama

Comments: A strong showing by the Vogue Moddle, with excellent form and hair. But Ms. Obama pulled ahead with a higher believability factor, and by ditching her shoes. Even the German judge was impressed.

Second Heat
The Champion: Marie Claire Moddle
Form: 6
Height: 2
Hair: 4
Expression: 5
Believability: 4
Fractured Ankle Factor: 0

Overall score: 21

Second Heat
The Challenger: Michelle Obama
Form: 9
Height: 0
Hair: 8
Expression: 10
Believability: 10
Fractured Ankle Factor: 0

Overall score: 37

SECOND HEAT RESULTS:
Advantage: Michelle Obama

Comments: Michelle Obama didn't seem to get off the ground, which you'd think would disqualify her from a Leaping contest. Yet the Moddle's poor form really set her back. In addition, Michelle really wowed the judges with a look that said: "I've got this." The representative from Japan actually shed a single tear of joy.

Third Heat
The Champion: Bazaar Moddle
Form: 9
Height: 6
Hair: 5
Expression: 6
Believability: 6
Fractured Ankle Factor: -2

Overall score: 30

Third Heat
The Challenger: Michelle Obama
Form: 8
Height: 9
Hair: 7
Expression: 9
Believability: 10
Fractured Ankle Factor: -1

Overall score: 42

THIRD HEAT RESULTS:
Advantage: Michelle Obama

Comments: The Moddles really have exquisite form, Bob. It's too bad their scores are being dragged down by the footwear choices. The thing is, when Michelle Obama jumps, she actually looks like she's jumping. The judges love that.

Fourth Heat
The Champion: Vogue Moddle
Form: 9
Height: 7
Hair: 9
Expression: 9
Believability: 8
Fractured Ankle Factor: -4

Overall score: 38

Fourth Heat
The Challenger: Michelle Obama
Form: 9
Height: 8
Hair: 8
Expression: 10
Believability: 10
Fractured Ankle Factor: 0

Overall score: 45

FINAL RESULTS:
WINNER: Michelle Obama

Comments: Bob, have you ever seen a victory this solid? The crowd is on its feet. We have a new World Champion in Lovely Leaping Ladies. You'll be telling your grandkids about this day, Bob. I think I just saw the judge from Israel hug the judge from Iran! People are that stoked.

Earlier:
Ladymags Love Leaping Layouts

[Obama Images via Getty.]

She continues:

"Until recently, we barely even spoke. We went from being superclose in the beginning," she says, "to dead silence if we saw each other backstage at a show." Not even a hello? "If we did say hi, it was hi, and that's it."

Why was there tension between the two ladies?

"It's competition," Jourdan says. "There aren't a lot of us, but instead of sticking together, we're pitted against each other. People will say things in Chanel's ear like, 'Jourdan is taking your spot,' and then they'll say to me, 'Don't trust Chanel.'"

Though Vogue's recent history with models of color has been to (mostly) ignore them, little sister Teen Vogue has been more inclusive: An Asian model appeared in the January 2009 issue; in November 2008, two brown-skinned models had a multi-page fashion spread. (At the time, we called them "black models," but Selina Khan is from the French-speaking Caribbean island Martinique and swears she's not black, but "Indian, mixed with Arabic and Creole, and Vietnamese." As for Austria Alcantara, she's Dominican. The point is: They're models of color and a change from the blonde women who are staples in Vogue publications.)

Even though the ladies on this cover are incredibly successful, they're quick to point out how hard it is to be a black model in the fashion industry. Jourdan says:

"I remember last season I was about to go into a casting, and my agent phoned and said, 'Turn back. They decided they don't want any black models.' I was like, 'They're actually telling you that's the reason? Are you serious?!'"

Part of me wishes she would name the designer, so we'd know who ought to be ashamed of themselves. Since we counted models of color at New York Fashion Week in February, we know it could be any one of several designers: The shows for Alexandre Herchcovitz, Behnaz Sarafpour, Costello Tagliapietra, Erin Fetherston, Halston, Marchesa, Max Azria, Milly, Miss Sixty, Monique Lhuillier, Nicole Miller, Philosophy, Reem Acra, Tibi, TSE, United Bamboo, Vena Cava, VPL and Vivienne Tam had zero black models. Then again, maybe Jourdan was talking about London Fashion Week. Or Paris.

Hopefully, the fact that Teen Vogue has black models on the cover means that diversity is finally becoming a priority for the Vogue brand. After months and months without any black models, Chanel Iman was on the cover of Vogue in May 2007 (under the fold); Liya Kedebe was on the May 2009 cover (but not alone). And Jennifer Hudson, Michelle Obama and LeBron James have landed Vogue covers recently, even if black models have not been so lucky.

Since Jourdan Dunn is pregnant (yes, Teen Vogue put a pregnant teenager on the cover) we can't be sure what kind of magazine spreads she'll book right now (although a maternity-wear shoot would be a great idea!) But Chanel Iman seems optimistic about the future:

"I don't want to be known as the black model. I want to be recognized as Chanel Iman, a personality. Five years from now I see myself still working hard to get where I want to be, because I think big. I think the best. Maybe I think too large."

Double Whammy [Teen Vogue]
Chanel Iman And Jourdan Dunn Teen Vogue Cover Shoot Photos [Teen Vogue]

Related: Chanel Iman And Jourdan Dunn's Greatest Runway Hits [Teen Vogue]
Orange You Glad I Met Selina? [Tia Williams]

Earlier:
Vogue's Not Racist; Three Black Models Prove It!
Is Vogue's "LeBron Kong" Cover Offensive?
Analyzing The Absurdist Art In The New Teen Vogue
13 Horrifying Images From The New Teen Vogue
Black Models: Teen Vogue Goes Where Vogue Will Not
How Did New York Fashion Week's 116 Shows Treat Models Of Color?

The story, shot by Dusan Reljin, opens — ahem — with a crotch shot. Now, a crotch shoot in and of itself is not necessarily low brow, but those jean shorts? In a hotel room? With the words "naughty by nature"? It just doesn't look very high end.

The very next image is not much better; Amber's famous asset is the focal point, instead of her absolutely glorious face. She's been signed by Ford, and she is capable of having a fresh, clean look. this ain't it.

While there's nothing wrong with Amber Rose showing off her famous derriere, there is a problem with it being in Elle. Because, in the context of a fashion magazine, it doesn't seem right, it doesn't seem "fashion." All we ever see of Amber Rose is her posterior. We've seen Kanye grab it, Madonna touch it, and Complex put it in a cage. As LaToya wrote about black models pictured nude while white models are photographed clothed, "It's about the roles of black women in fashion being limited to animals, sex objects, and advertising, but banned from higher fashion and catwalks." Elle had the chance to photograph Amber Rose like we've never seen her before — in couture, maybe, or just a head-and-shoulders beauty shoot. Instead, they chose to sexualize an already sexualized model. What's new, fresh, inventive, interesting about that?

This shot of Amber lying submissive on a bed — with the camera looming over her from the position of power — is almost as disheartening as the ass shot. What's additionally upsetting is that there are other celebrity models inside, and they are not photographed this way.

Posh, of course, gets the Posh treatment. Amber Rose would probably look amazing in a $3,000 cashmere dress, but they just didn't give her the chance.

Or, if they wanted to go sexy with Amber, why not sensual and cinematic, like (former model) Diane Kruger's shoot?

Better yet, they could have turned Amber's overtly feminine physique on its head and put her in menswear, as they did for (former model) Jamie King.

It's not that they didn't pull some good stuff for Amber's shoot: Her sunglasses are Fendi; the butt-baring bodysuit is $3,775 from Giorgio Armani; the dress on the bed is Blumarine, ringing up at $4,255. But the concept, vision and execution of the shoot is a shame, and a waste. But maybe you saw on the first page: It was styled by Kanye West.

We really hope that this isn't really the end for Laurie, because she really is alotta fun.

In this preview clip she exemplifies why she's one of our favorite most ridiculous women, saying, "I am mother earth out there. I don't give a rat's ass about hair and makeup," while wearing opera gloves and a cocktail ring. My favorite thing though, is her "personal ambition" for wanting to do the show: "Because part of the proceeds go to my favorite charity: AIDS."

AIDS has always been the most giving and charitable institution!

Earlier: 15 Favorite Most Ridiculous Women

It can be hard, because it's your heritage and you want to be appreciated for it, but it's just modeling, so I don't let it get to me." — Sessilee Lopez. [Latina]

“It’s not just black girls. It’s ethnic girls in general: Brazilian girls, Hispanic. You really don’t see a lot of Asians either. A lot of designers think that if every girl on the runway looks exactly alike, then people will come to the shows and buy the clothes because they won’t be focusing on the models….It’s not even just runway either... us ethnic girls should be getting a lot of the covers too! I would love to be on half of the campaigns these [white] girls are booking, all looking exactly alike. It’s not right. It’s not fair.”

[Page Six Magazine]

We noted that there were barely any black models on the runways in Milan last year. This year, writes Trebay:

While Giorgio Armani notably cast some black models for his Emporio Armani show, as did Donatella Versace for hers, there was not a single black (or Asian or Latino) face to be seen on the runways at Jil Sander, Missoni, Burberry, Trussardi, Bottega Veneta, Gianfranco Ferre, Roberto Cavalli or Prada.

(Armani and Versace had a few.)

The crazy thing is that there's a tabloid magazine, Urban, that's being given away at the men's shows this week, and the cover line is "Black Fever." The mag's editors claim that "From politics to fashion, photography to art," black is the color. And they don't mean hue — they mean black people. Except, of course, on the runways.

All of the models were white at the Gucci show, but Frida Giannini, Gucci's head designer, said: "I think it would be great if there was an industry initiative on this issue, because I am always looking for black models, or even Chinese or whatever, for the shows. I'm after a specific kind of look, and I request the agencies — I asked last season — to send me someone interesting. But they never send me anyone very new." And so begins the blame game: Designers and editors blame casting directors and model agencies; model agencies blame designers and editors. In fact, Trebay contacts NYC modeling agency owner George Brown, who flew several of his black models to Milan. Brown says: "They had some amazing options, options I’d never seen before on black guys," meaning some big designers put the models on hold. But: "The options fell off and we found the same line-up of white guys doing all the major shows."

Of course, these are the men's shows, and not the more consequential women's wear, but we'll see what happens: Can Italian designers really look through the "all black" issue and not want to hire any of those ladies?

In Milan, Models Still Come in Only One Color [NY Times]

Earlier: On The Runways Of Milan, Color Just Wasn't Considered Chic
Italian Vogue's "All Black" Issue: A Guided Tour
The "All Black" Issue Of Italian Vogue Is Officially A "Success"
The "All Black" Issue Of Italian Vogue: Both A Success And A Failure
Is Prada To Blame For the Lack Of Black Models?

[Image via New York Times.]

Doing 20 editorial looks, solo, against a grey studio backdrop, with nary a prop in sight and no organizing principle to the clothes other than “Fall silhouettes!” probably approaches my idea of hell. You're not playing a character, you don't have an evocative setting, and there isn't even a particular mood or feel the editorial is intended to convey — it's just you and your basic posing repertoire, alone in a brightly lit box. No wonder Anna Rachford of Woodstock, IL, is sporting basically the same position and expression in three of the above shots; there’s no story here. What unites this spread other than the fact that it's fall, and, yes, this might necessitate the donning of coats and knitwear? We see this editorial every season. It's the fashion equivalent of those insipid freshmen-oriented survey classes where the reading list is such a ragbag (you know, Middlemarch and Fielding and Frankenstein and Borges for good measure) that you wonder just what in hell the professor was thinking. Probably that delivering lectures that attained their mature form in 1973 is a hoot when you have tenure. And probably that an appreciation for literature is an admirable social grace suitable for the weekend delectation of young ladies' minds. I'm not much given to puffery in my novels and I like it even less in my fashion.



Oh, no, tights! Once I did a fall lookbook for an Asian client and we had to shoot two dozen some outfits in one day — and every single get-up came with a different pair of brightly colored tights. And, because the client’s line was designed with its shorter-legged market in mind, the tights went up only about as far as my knees, and what with the quick changing and the many layers, I was already sweating from every pore since of course it was July, and I sensed even at the time that this epic struggle of Model v. Unyielding Spandex, times 24, was, even if I prevailed (and, you'll be glad to know, I did live to model another day!), going to become the stuff of panicked flashbacks. At one point there was an assistant stylist poised at each thigh, firmly yanking at the waistband of a pair of aubergine wool-blend tights while I sort of jumped up and down in place and the photographer's assistant tried to look like he wasn't peeping. Tights, oh God. You weren't there, man!



I have no idea what Anna’s doing in that green psychedelic drum majorette getup, either. Sending imaginary semaphore for “Send Help Trapped In Photoshoot”? Directing the landings of nearby aircraft? Unseen shadow puppets? Let's chalk it up to studio daze and move on.



Eva Poloniová says that the hardest thing about modeling is “Wearing beautiful clothes without being able to keep them.” Funny you should say so, Eva, given you’ve shimmied into a $3,040 Prada dress — and I’m guessing your paycheck for the edit was $100 or so for the day. Before agency commission, natch! Keep trawling those sample sales, darling. You never know.



This next story is all about female fashion icons who wore pants: for some reason, someone decided Meg Ryan belonged on the list with Marlene Dietrich and Diane Keaton, and, also for some reason, someone determined that a blonde Russian was qualified to impersonate every “iconic” woman who wore pants, ever. Nevermind; I kind of can’t dislike the girl. Valerie Avdeyeva said her most memorable experience was posing on an Argentine glacier — cool! (There’s nothing that drives me deeper into apoplexy than a model who gets to go to Morocco or Iceland or Papua New Guinea for an editorial who comes back and shrugs, “It was okay, I guess. The food was, like, really weird.”) And Valerie parried back a stupid question about which celebrity she’d most like to meet with a cheery reference to the author of Franny and Zooey! Plus she said she couldn’t function without her iPod and her eyelash curler — that’s a practicality/frivolity ratio I can get behind. Even if she doesn’t give me any Jane Birkin in this picture, it's not her fault Birkin was an incorrigible brunette.



Seriously?



Whoa. She eats candy bars. Valerie is officially new favorite model material!



Oh God. Janis Joplin sings a song called “Rose” — so we have to represent the (brunette!) hippie idol (in $1395 pants and a $2055 blouse!) swaying beatifically and staring at a prop rose? Weak.