Ok gals and boys if the boy are reading ofcourse!Lol! I just needed to blog this story! WHAT? just messing..but seriously what is this fashion industry and their so called photographers,editors etc all about?I cannot seem to understand why you title an editorial piece 'African Queen' and then turn a white girl white, I cannot quite make it all out!Its just plain hard and difficult for me personally to understand...Ok my rant is over lets get down to the story!
A french Magazine 'Numero' caused outrage after it snagged sixteen-year-old Caucasian model Ondria Hardin to pose for the feature in black face. Read excerpts below. Right! personally for me,this looks like a decision made by someone who thinks they are really creative when infact they are dead in the head!Cause the title of this spread and the idea or whatever it is they are tryna achieve just does not correlate.I might have to paint my dark skinned models white or pour some creamy loking paint over them so I dont have to bother hiring some white models...sickening! Read and see pics!What do you reckon?
According to the Huffington Post:
Below is what the photographer says:
Poor dude!lol! he right though..that title 'African Queen' is rather unfortunate. I just think this Numero or whatever they call their magazine is just seeking attention...which of course they have got cause errm we all talking about it, albeit to me a negative attention......!
Update: The photographer of the shoot, Sebastian Kim, responded to the backlash with a statement:
credit:nicole bitchie
A french Magazine 'Numero' caused outrage after it snagged sixteen-year-old Caucasian model Ondria Hardin to pose for the feature in black face. Read excerpts below. Right! personally for me,this looks like a decision made by someone who thinks they are really creative when infact they are dead in the head!Cause the title of this spread and the idea or whatever it is they are tryna achieve just does not correlate.I might have to paint my dark skinned models white or pour some creamy loking paint over them so I dont have to bother hiring some white models...sickening! Read and see pics!What do you reckon?
According to the Huffington Post:
The young lady in the spread is 16-year-old, blond-haired, blue-eyed Ondria Hardin, who is seen with her skin darkened and striking a pose for the French glossy. To start, we know there are plenty of white people living in Africa — but Ondria is from North Carolina and we’re pretty sure white people in Africa don’t walk around in what could be considered a light application of blackface.An editor at Jezebel (who is a Caucasian woman) adds:
With that said, the editorial serves as another sad example of how the fashion industry continually ignores or exploits ethnic diversity rather than celebrating it. And to think how easy it would have been for Numéro to select one of the countless beautiful black models (see slideshow below) and avoid this justifiable backlash and contribution to an unrelenting problem.
It’s impossible to look at this and not ache for young women of color who want to pursue careers in modeling (and arguably, fashion by extension). When they don’t see themselves on the runway or in magazines, it could be very easy for them to think, “huh, I guess modeling isn’t for me.” Then the status quo remains, and the runways remain monotone. If jobs for “African Queen” photo spreads aren’t going to black women, what hope is there?
Below is what the photographer says:
Poor dude!lol! he right though..that title 'African Queen' is rather unfortunate. I just think this Numero or whatever they call their magazine is just seeking attention...which of course they have got cause errm we all talking about it, albeit to me a negative attention......!
Update: The photographer of the shoot, Sebastian Kim, responded to the backlash with a statement:
I would like to apologize for any misunderstanding around my recent photos for Numero France. It was never my intention (nor Numero’s) to portray a black woman in this story. Our idea and concept for this fashion shoot was based on 60′s characters of Talitha Getty, Verushka and Marissa Berenson with middle eastern and Moroccan fashion inspiration. We at no point attempted to portray an African women by painting her skin black. We wanted a tanned and golden skin to be showcased as part of the beauty aesthetic of this shoot.
It saddens me that people would interpret this as a mockery of race. I believe that the very unfortunate title “African Queen” (which I was not aware of prior to publication) did a lot to further people’s misconceptions about these images. It was certainly never my intention to mock or offend anyone and I wholeheartedly apologize to anyone who was offended.
Sincerely,
Sebastian Kim
Blossom always xxx
credit:nicole bitchie
