Finally, London Fashion Week has said yes to diversity on the catwalk
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Lack of diversity on the catwalk is extremely prominent issue in the fashion industry.
Who could forget last years' New York Fashion Week, when Marc Jacobs sent white models, including Kendall Jenner, down the catwalk with dreadlocks, only to be accused of appropriating black culture? This London Fashion Week, it's important to look at how diversity has been handled.
Luckily there have been a variety of faces at this London Fashion Week, with many of the black models on the catwalk able showcase their beautiful natural hair - a refreshing change. It’s an important demonstration of the fashion industry's continued efforts to become inclusive of all different types and aspects of beauty. Beauty is not one dimensional and never has been, and the industry is taking note.
There was also a diverse age range of women in the Simone Rocha show. Rocha focused on timeless beauty and style, including models Marie-Sophie Wilson, Benedetta Barzini, and British model Jan de Villeneuve, who started modelling in the 1960s. The focus was placed on their timeless beauty and grace rather than their age. It was refreshing to see women of all ages at Fashion Week, making it much more enjoyable and accessible to all women.
Two of models who walked in the Teatum Jones show, Kelly Knox and Jack Eyers, are amputees - but they weren’t used as tokens, and if you didn't already know you wouldn't have realised they were amputees. If the industry continues to behave in this way, it really will open up a new era for inclusivity in the fashion world, a place that has often been so closed off to anyone who didn’t fit a particular image or look a certain way.
Although the industry is slowly becoming more diverse, blonde haired, blue-eyed 21-year-old Gigi Hadid is still the most photographed and reported on model this Fashion Week. Not that that’s necessarily a bad thing - but clearly, the industry still has a long way to go.