Fashion

Score One for Prada On the Diversity Front

by Tyler Atwood

The fashion world is finally making some moves promote diversity: Prada has cast French model Cindy Bruna to its most recent campaign. Photographer Steve Meisel captured the new Spring/Summer 2014 ad campaign for the fashion house, placing Bruna front and center in a fiery headband, embroidered bustier dress, and bejeweled leg warmers. Bruna follows in the footsteps of Prada favorite Naomi Campbell, who dashed the luxury label's reputation for homogeneous campaigns in the '90s.

The fashion industry doesn't have the best reputation for racial inclusion in modeling, but small steps have been taken in 2013 to help ameliorate the situation. Most recently, Joan Smalls spoke of the necessity for diversity, echoing the sentiments of industry giants including Iman and Jourdan Dunn.

Indeed, an effort has been made by top-tier designers to include models of varying ethnicities on the runway and in ad campaigns. Most notably, designer Rick Owens and mass retailer Guess have featured African-American and Indian models in their work this year. While designers cite global brand visibility as a significant reason for the change, the fashion industry has been confronted for its lack of inclusion, as well as its ubiquitous one-dimensional campaigns, which often don't reflect the faces of its consumers.

In an interview with CNN, Naomi Campbell stated that the lack of diversity has grown more concerning in recent years, a comment supported by Jezebel's research that white models constituted 82.7% of February 2013's Fashion Week. Confronted with these startling statistics, Prada's recruitment of Bruna is a tiny, albeit positive, step towards industry diversity.

If designers are to keep up with a racially diverse and globalized world, including models of differing ethnicities and backgrounds is essential.