Regular Models Needed!
Before there was an Instagram or Tumblr there was this conventional thing called a magazine. Magazines took the place of cell phones when I was a kid. I would play games in the back, check out the celebrity gossip in the middle and flip through them to find out what was happening in the world of fashion.
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Growing up I was naturally slim due to my fast metabolism so I thought becoming a model with be a good fit for me. I felt that way because society created the illusion that all models were skinny and I fit the description. Stereotypical right? Then I started to notice there was something about these models in the magazines. Not only were they skinny but they also had a peculiar look. There was no place for someone like me in the real world or within the fashion world. Or so I thought.
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“Regular” women are rarely illustrated in fashion. By regular I mean, how women look in everyday, non-airbrushed life. Today's models are either extremely pale, really dark, look "multiracial" with pretty eyes, bald with strong bone structure, and the list goes on. Why is that? The majority of the people who read fashion magazines look nothing like the models that are supposed to represent beauty ideals. This creates the problem of molding oneself to fit the unattainable standards of beauty in fashion.
As a designer, I understand how being particular is crucial while in the process of creating. When it comes to a collection designers spend an extreme amount of time to construct a masterpiece, therefore we really consider who we want to bring our garments to life. Designers usually choose models based on who has great walk or who reflects their vision most. However, there is a very thin line between articulating a vision and producing social problems.
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Kanye West tweeted about his model call seeking out only multiracial models which caused for many upset people. It was only an issue because we all interpret the word multiracial differently. To some, it means a mixture of ethnic backgrounds, and to others it can be perceived as white or black with a hint of something else.
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I recently went on a trip to Fes, Morocco and I was easily noticed because I didn't look "regular." A darker tone woman with cornrow braids, was unfamiliar; to them I was foreign. In each community the definition of foreign adjusts based on what is rarely seen. People are intrigued with the idea of being foreign and seeing unaccustomed people. It's okay, we're all human, but we have to be mindful that judgmental barriers cause exclusivity.
There is an issue of diversity within the fashion industry. Nevertheless, the trend of non-beauty is stepping out and recreating regular as individualism. Even though beauty is in the eye of the beholder, the beholder has to be open minded enough to accept what is different or misunderstood. When I thought there wasn't a place for me in the magazines or the real world I created my own space.
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Be you; be beautiful.
