Diane von Furstenberg, designer and President of Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), is known for casting models of different ethnicities on her runways at Fashion Week. However, she had a wider range of diversity at NY Fashion Week Fall 2010. 16 of her 43 looks were worn by models of color and she will make sure to promote more diverse models in the future. According to NYMag.com’s The Cut, Furstenberg said at a launch party of her new CD Proud to Be Woman, “I insist. It’s my rule, and I always tell my casting agents. That’s it! Otherwise, I don’t hire them. I send everybody an e-mail right before Fashion Week to remind them to do it.” It sounds like she means serious business.
Bravo to Furstenberg for speaking up about a change that many people have been wanting to see in the fashion industry for years. If we want to attract a wider audience at fashion shows every year, then we need to be more diverse on the runways. Hopefully, more designers will welcome this need for diversity, and embrace her example.
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