Fashion Month Fall 2022 felt like a return to form. Not only did we witness an uptick when it came to street style, the number of in-person shows jumped. Although the face masks spotted in the front rows remind us that the pandemic is still impacting the industry.

With the return of more live presentations, diversity was up across almost all categories. We’re talking race, size and gender. (The former two experienced significant improvement.) In fact, the only area where it faltered was the booking of models over 50. Which proves there’s still work to do.

Keep reading to see how Fashion Month Fall 2022 fared.

RACE

Fall 2022 is the most racially diverse season ever. Well, barely. We examined 4,409 model appearances across 193 major presentations and discovered a slight increase from Spring 2022’s 48 percent models of color to 48.6 percent. It’s progress, but we were hoping for a bigger bump.

Not surprisingly, New York was the most racially diverse city with 54.9 percent nonwhite models. London followed at 50.9 percent. Paris just edged out Milan with 46.3 percent and 45.2 percent models of color, respectively.

While Paris and Milan were at the bottom this season, they actually showed a marked improvement from Spring 2022. The City of Light rose from 43.9 percent in Spring 2022 and Italy’s fashion capital climbed from 43.3 percent nonwhite models. Interestingly, both New York and London’s numbers were down. For Spring 2022, the Big Apple rang in at 55.5 percent, while they reached 52.4 percent models of color across the pond.

TOP MODELS

We’re pleased to report that more than half of the top 12 models of Fashion Month Fall 2022 were women of color. Venezuelan beauty América González earned the top spot with an impressive 29 appearances. The United States’ own Sherry Shi followed close behind with 28.

Nigerian stunner Victoria Fawole was next with 26, while Chinese model Yilan Hua had 25. Both Russian beauty Tanya Churbanova and Kenyan Caren Jepkemei racked up 23. Canadian model Awar Odhiang had 22 under her belt. French beauty Loli Bahia and Senegalese/Italian stunner Maty Fall followed with 21 apiece. South Korean model Sora Choi, Belgium’s Louise Robert and androgynous model Miriam Sanchez round out the list with 20 each.

PLUS-SIZE

The Fall 2022 season saw an improvement when it comes to size diversity with a record 103 plus-size appearances or 2.34 percent of total castings. (A good portion went to models of color.) Compare that to Spring 2022’s 81 which accounted for only 1.81 percent of all castings, although it was enough to give it the number three spot. The second highest season was actually Spring 2020 with 86 plus-size castings.

New York was responsible for a majority of the castings with 51. Milan brought 20, Paris 17 and London 15.

There were many familiar faces. Paloma Elsesser was the most booked plus-size model in New York walking in six shows. She added to her tally with three London appearances, two in Milan and three in Paris. Precious Lee racked up four in New York, one in Milan and one in Paris. Jill Kortleve boasted two in New York, two in Milan and one in Paris. Sabina Karlsson spread her appearances across three cities: London (two), Milan (two) and Paris (one).

We hope the number of plus-size model appearances for Spring 2023 breaks this season’s record. Stay tuned.

TRANSGENDER/NON-BINARY

While far from a record, Fall 2022 saw a jump in gender representation. Last season there were only 41 transgender and non-binary model appearances. This season that number increased to 59 or 1.34 percent of total castings. Although Spring 2019 still reigns supreme thanks to its 91 appearances.

Once again, New York led the charge with 24 appearances. Paris had 13, London 12 and Milan only 10. The latter only booked one nonwhite model, indigenous non-binary model Valentine Alvarez, who also appeared over in Paris.

Sadly, size and age representation weren’t represented in the transgender and non-binary appearances.

AGE

Age representation took a tumble this season. Spring 2022 brought us 35 over-50 model appearances or 0.78 percent of total castings. But for Fall 2022, there were only 23 or 0.52 percent of total castings. That’s way down from Fall 2020’s high of 44.

Paris made up the majority with 15 aged castings. New York had four, Milan three and London only one (Elisabetta Dessy walking for Act N.1). The return of 90s supermodels was a big reason Paris led the way. Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell and Helena Christensen appeared in Off-White’s tribute show to Virgil Abloh.

MOST AND LEAST DIVERSE SHOWS

Although in-person shows dominated, lookbooks still had an impact on diversity for Fall 2022. When it came to actual runway presentations, Victor Glemaud came out on top with 100 percent racial diversity. All 27 models who walked the runway were models of color. Bibhu Mohapatra also rang in at 100 percent with all 17 models being women of color.

The least diverse list is where the lookbooks and digital offerings come into play. Technically, Valentin Yudashkin topped this list with zero models of color out of nine. Then there was Vivetta with zero out of three.

Preen by Thornton Bregazzi had just 13 percent with 2 out of 15. Elisabetta Franchi and Daniela Gregis both came in at 18 percent with 10 of 56 and 3 of 17, respectively.

Fashion Month Fall 2022 certainly had its ups and downs. Happy to see racial diversity inch upward, albeit at a less-than-desirable pace. The upticks in size and gender were also great. Of course, we also wish those numbers were higher. The decline in over-50 models is definitely cause for concern. We don’t think it’s too much to ask that notable increases cross all categories. We just hope we have better news for Spring 2023.

Additional reporting by Mark E.

Only women and non-binary models are included in this data. Models of color are categorized as those who are nonwhite or of mixed backgrounds.

The post Report: Racial, Size and Gender Diversity Up as Age Representation Drops at Fashion Month Fall 2022 appeared first on theFashionSpot.

We were happy to report that diversity was up across the board last season at New York Fashion Week. Sadly, we can’t say the same for Fall 2022. Disappointingly, New York Fashion Week Fall 2022 saw dips (albeit small) in racial, age and gender diversity with only a minimal increase in size inclusivity.

We examined 60 presentations this season and tallied the results across all of the categories. Keep reading to see how New York Fashion Week Fall 2022 stacked up.

RACE

New York Fashion Week Fall 2022 featured 54.9 percent models of color. That’s down from Spring 2022’s 55.5 percent. Spring 2021 still holds the record for most models of color at 57.1 percent.

Even with the drop, Fall 2022 is the third most diverse season of New York Fashion Week since we started keeping track during the Spring 2015 season.

TOP MODELS

Six out of the top nine models at New York Fashion Week Fall 2022 were models of color. Chinese-American model Sherry Shi had the most appearances overall with nine. Venezuelan beauty América González was right behind with eight.

Brazilian stunners Barbara Valente and Raynara Negrine, South Korean model Sora Choi, Nigerian-born Victoria Fawole, American model Effie Steinberg, Dutch model Felice Noordhoff and Swedish beauty Vilma Sjöberg clocked in at seven apiece.

Per usual, size, age and gender diversity were not featured in the top nine.

PLUS-SIZE

New York Fashion Week Fall 2022 had 51 plus-size model appearances accounting for 5.09 percent of total castings. This is a tiny bump from Spring 2022 when there were 48 plus-size model appearances or just under 4 percent of total castings. Still, this doesn’t top Spring 2020, which holds the record for most plus-size model appearances at 68.

Of the aforementioned 51 appearances, 35 (close to 69 percent) belonged to models of color. Paloma Elsesser was the most booked plus-size model walking in six shows. While Precious Lee came in at four.

The brand 11 Honoré featured the most plus-size models with 12 appearances. Followed by Christian Siriano and Altuzarra, which had eight and five plus-size model appearances respectively.

TRANSGENDER/NON-BINARY

Gender diversity decreased slightly this season with 24 transgender/non-binary model appearances accounting for 2.39 percent of total castings. Last season there were 30 accounting for 2.40 percent. The highest total on record is still Spring 2019 with 53 appearances.

Of the 24 transgender/non-binary model appearances in Fall 2022, nine belonged to models of color for 37.5 percent of total castings. Non-binary model Valentine Alvarez was tied with transgender models Angel Prost and Magnus Maxine at three appearances each.

Transgender model Dara Allen had two appearances. While Aaron Philip, Moses Battiest, Anjali Lama and Martine Gutierrez each had one.

The most inclusive show this season was Gabriela Hearst, which featured six transgender/non-binary castings. Eckhaus Latta, The Blonds and Collina Strada all had three transgender/non-binary model appearances, while Maryam Nassir Zadeh had two.

AGE

There were only four over-50 model castings at New York Fashion Week Fall 2022 for 0.40 percent. This paltry number was a decrease from last season when there were 12 over-50 model appearances for a total of 0.96 percent of model castings. Spring 2020 and Fall 2019 are still tied for the highest on record with 15 apiece.

Of the aged castings this season, three out of four were white with Susan Cianciolo landing two. Beverly Johnson was the only aged model of color to walk in a show this season.

Eckhaus Latta, Bibhu Mohapatra, Collina Strada and Maryam Nassir Zadeh each had one over-50 model apiece.

MOST AND LEAST DIVERSE SHOWS

Five brands reached the 100 percent diverse mark for Fall 2022. When it comes to the bigger shows, Victor Glemaud was the most impressive with 27 out of 27 models of color. Followed by Bibhu Mohapatra with 17 out of 17 nonwhite model appearances.

The other three brands who received 100 percent diversity had much smaller casts. PH5, Sally LaPointe and Simon Miller each booked two out of two models of color for their lookbooks.

On the other end of the diversity spectrum, we saw a few familiar names on the list. Snow Xue Gao and Vivienne Hu had 0 percent diversity casting zero out of two nonwhite models. Adam Lippes, Derek Lam 10 Crosby and Zero + Maria Cornejo also had 0 percent diversity casting zero out of one nonwhite models for their lookbooks.

We’re disappointed that the latest season of New York Fashion Week saw a decrease in racial diversity from last season. Especially since Spring 2022 marked a return to in-person shows and a rebound in diversity after a rough Fall 2021 season.

New York is historically the most diverse fashion capital so we’re concerned we may see downturns in London, Milan and Paris as well. (Although Fashion Month Spring 2022 was the most racially diverse season ever so there’s still a glimmer of a chance that the other fashion capitals will step up.)

Additional reporting by Mark E.

Only women and non-binary models are included in this data. Models of color are categorized as those who are nonwhite or of mixed backgrounds.

The post Report: Racial, Age and Gender Diversity Decrease, Size Inclusivity Sees Small Uptick at New York Fashion Week Fall 2022 appeared first on theFashionSpot.

When it comes to diversity, fashion notoriously lags behind other industries. But with the fight for racial justice taking center stage last year, things finally started to change in 2020. Thankfully, that change continued this year. At least when it came to 2021 magazine covers. We’ll certainly take it.

We saw a small uptick in racial diversity on 2021 magazine covers. While not as large of an increase as compared to 2019 and 2020, things are still trending in the right direction. There was more size and gender diversity on covers this year, too. Although age representation took a nosedive. (There’s a logical reason behind the plunge, but more on that later.)

Of course, the ongoing pandemic continues to pose challenges. But classic photoshoots made a comeback in 2021 after many fashion publications had to forgo them in 2020. Sadly, some fashion magazines weren’t able to weather the storm. American Marie Claire, for example, went strictly digital. So as a result of everything that happened this year, there were less cover appearances for models than last year.

Read on to learn how the 2021 magazine covers fared on the diversity front across all categories.

RACE

We examined 685 cover appearances across 48 major magazine titles and found a small spike in representation. This year saw 52.9 percent models of color compared to last year’s 48.8 percent. That’s an uptick of a little over four points.

This increase was smaller than the one that happened between 2019 and 2020, when there was close to a 12-point surge in models of color. Still, this year’s covers were the most diverse on record. Which is a definite win. Especially since we finally pushed past the 50 percent mark.

MOST AND LEAST DIVERSE

Vogue India, a familiar face in the most diverse category, cast 100 percent models of color (17 out of 17). Marie Claire U.S. also had 100 percent diversity with three out of three models of color before the print magazine folded. Vogue Taiwan, which previously cast 100 percent models of color for six straight years, was down this year with 91 percent models of color (10 out of 11).

Dazed had 90 percent models of color (9 out of 10), followed by Vogue Arabia at 89 percent (17 out of 19) and Vogue Singapore at 86 percent (six out of seven). Interview at 83 percent (five out of six), Allure at 82 percent (9 out of 11) and Vogue China at 80 percent (12 out of 15) round out the list.

When it came to the least diverse magazines of 2021, several international editions of Vogue topped this less-than-desirable list. Vogue Czechoslovakia was the least diverse of the bunch with a disappointing 0 percent (0 out of 14). Followed by Vogue Turkey at 10 percent (1 out of 10), Vogue Greece at 18 percent (2 out of 11) and Vogue Portugal at 19 percent (4 out of 21).

PLUS-SIZE

Plus-size model appearances also got a small boost coming in at 24 or 3.50 percent of total cover appearances. This was an increase from 2020 which saw 21 castings at 2.66 percent. It was the most plus-size model appearances since we started keeping track. Also of note, 16 of the aforementioned 24 plus-size appearances went to models of color.

Precious Lee landed six covers: Harper’s Bazaar U.S., i-D, Vogue Brazil, British Vogue, American Vogue and Vogue Arabia. Jill Kortleve graced the covers of four international Vogue editions (Spain, Russia, Hong Kong and Italia), while Paloma Elsesser landed three Vogue covers (Spain, U.S. and Poland).

AGE

Women over 50 were down from 2020’s record, which was due in large part to the 100 covers Vogue Italia produced for its September issue last year. Those covers featured a variety of over-50 women making 2020 an exceptionally age-diverse year.

In 2021, there were 47 aged model appearances or 6.86 percent. While this was a decrease from last year, it’s still higher than previous years. (Like 2019 and 2018 when there were only 41.) Everyone from makeup artist Pat McGrath to fashion designer Anna Sui to iconic supermodels Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell and Iman earned covers this year.

Campbell appeared on three covers: i-D, Interview and V Magazine. Jennifer Lopez and Salma Hayek also each scored three covers this year. They both nabbed separate covers of ELLE U.S. and InStyle, while Lopez also appeared on Allure and Hayek graced Vogue India.

Viola Davis, Halle Berry, Rita Moreno, Dolly Parton and Madonna each nabbed individual covers. And after the November 2020 election, both Kamala Harris and Dr. Jill Biden appeared on separate covers of American Vogue.

TRANSGENDER/NON-BINARY

Gender diversity saw a tiny bump this year. In 2020 there were 12 cover appearances for a total of 1.52 percent, while 2021 saw 13 cover appearances for a total of 1.90 percent. While this increase was almost imperceptible, it was the most cover appearances in this category since we started keeping track. Plus, 11 out of the 13 appearances in this category were models of color.

Indya Moore led the way with two covers: Dazed and V Magazine. Vogue Thailand, meanwhile, featured three transgender models — Blossom, MJ and Sunshine — on its June 2021 cover to celebrate Pride Month.

TOP MODELS

Hailey Bieber, Kendall Jenner and Precious Lee tied for the top spot, each landing six cover appearances. Bieber covered V Magazine, Vogue Brazil, Vogue Paris, ELLE U.S., CR Fashion Book and Harper’s Bazaar U.S., while Jenner popped up on V Magazine, ELLE U.S. and Vogue’s China, Spain, Germany and Hong Kong editions. Lee appeared on the covers of Harper’s Bazaar U.S., i-D, Vogue Brazil, British Vogue, American Vogue and Vogue Arabia.

Adut Akech, Anya Taylor-Joy, Awkwafina, Billie Eilish, Mica Argañaraz, Mona Tougaard and Zendaya all had strong showings landing five covers apiece.

Out of the top 10 cover models of 2021, six were women of color with one also being plus-size. As per usual, age and gender diversity were absent from the top model rankings.

LOOKING FORWARD

In 2020, we were nervous there would be a steep decline in diversity in 2021 and that last year was just a fluke due to current events. Although the gains were smaller this year, we’re pleased there was still an increase in diversity and not a drop-off like we expected when it came to the 2021 magazine covers. In fact, for the first time since we’ve been keeping track, more than 50 percent of cover appearances went to models of color.

While size and gender numbers were higher than in previous years, they’re still pretty meager. What’s more, the number of women over 50 who appeared on magazine covers disappointingly declined between 2020 and 2021.

In 2022, we hope the overall upward trend of diversity continues. We’d like to see even more racial diversity on magazine covers next year (can we hit 60 percent or even 70 percent?). Not to mention more significant diversity gains across size, gender and age. Let’s sustain this forward momentum and make lasting progress.

With additional reporting by Mark E.

For the purpose of this report, “model” is anyone who appears on a cover, even if modeling is not their profession. Models of color are categorized as those who are nonwhite or of mixed backgrounds.

The post Report: 2021 Magazine Covers Were the Most Racially Diverse on Record appeared first on theFashionSpot.

Fashion month continues to be impacted by the pandemic. Fashion Month Spring 2022 saw more shows and more castings than the Fall 2021 season. But many designers still opted for lookbooks and smaller presentations.

Although it’s certainly not an excuse, smaller shows led to fewer castings and less diversity in some cases. Despite these challenges, Spring 2022 still managed to make history when it came to racial diversity. It even had some decent gains in size, age and gender representation.

We’ve tallied the totals across New York, London, Milan and Paris. So keep reading to see how Fashion Month Spring 2022 stacked up.

RACE

Spring 2022 is now the most racially diverse season on record. It boasted 4,471 model appearances across 198 shows. And 48 percent of those appearances were by models of color. That’s an almost five point increase in diversity from last season when a little over 43 percent of castings went to nonwhite models.

The rise between Spring 2022 and Fall 2021 was larger than the increase between Fall 2021 and Spring 2021. Fall 2021, the previous record holder when it comes to racial diversity, saw a close to 2 percent increase over Spring 2021. Spring 2021 saw an even smaller uptick with a less than 1 percent increase over Fall 2020.

New York Fashion Week Spring 2022 had the most diversity with 55.5 percent of appearances by models of color. (Not surprising since New York is usually the most diverse city.) That’s almost a 5 percent increase over the 50.7 percent models of color during Fall 2021.

Next was London with 52.4 percent models of color down slightly from 53.3 percent in Fall 2021. Then came Paris holding (almost) steady with 43.9 percent nonwhite models compared to 43.8 percent in Fall 2021. Milan brings up the rear with 43.3 percent, a big jump from Fall 2021’s 37.6 percent.

TOP MODELS

Seven of the top 10 models from Fashion Month Spring 2022 were women of color. Japanese-French stunner Mika Schneider was the most-booked model with 28 castings. She walked for many big names, including Coach, Tom Ford, Burberry, Givenchy, Fendi, Prada, Versace and Louis Vuitton.

American model Quinn Mora was close behind with 27 appearances. Coming in third was France’s own Loli Bahia with 24. American beauty Majesty Amare, Canadian stunner Awar Odhiang, U.S. model Sherry Shi, Chinese catwalker Yilan Hua and Brazilian model Barbara Valente all tied with 22 apiece.

Rounding out the list are South Sudanese-Australian model Akon Changkou and American beauty Cara Taylor both with 21.

PLUS-SIZE

While plus-size models accounted for only 1.81 percent of all castings, there is some positive news to report. That’s more than quadruple the number from Fall 2021. This season there were 81 plus-size model appearances compared to just 19 last season. Spring 2022 is the second highest on record for size diversity. (Only Spring 2020 had more castings with 86.)

New York booked the most plus-size models for Spring 2022 with 48, followed by Paris with 18, Milan with nine and London with six. In New York, 37 of the 48 appearances (a little more than 77 percent) belonged to models of color. In Paris, 13 of the 18 appearances belonged to models of color (approximately 72 percent). And all of the plus-size model castings (yes, 100 percent) in Milan and London were models of color. Christian Siriano booked the most with nine castings.

Paloma Elsesser graced 12 runways this season from Brandon Maxwell to Lanvin. She was followed closely by Precious Lee, who booked 11 shows, including Prabal Gurung and Versace x Fendi. Transgender models Jari Jones and Ceval Omar walked for Collina Strada and GCDS, respectively.

TRANSGENDER/NON-BINARY

Spring 2022 also saw a bump in gender diversity with 41 appearances for 0.92 percent of total castings. That’s more than triple the number of transgender and non-binary appearances from Fall 2021 when there were only 12. But it’s still way down from Spring 2019’s high of 91 castings.

New York was the most gender-inclusive city with 30 accounting for close to three quarters (a tad over 73 percent) of the total castings. Plus, 15 of those 30 (or 50 percent) were models of color. Paris followed with five castings. Then came Milan with four and London with two.

Chromat booked eight transgender and non-binary models, the most of any brand. Non-binary model Noah Carlos was hired by Prabal Gurung and Adam Lippes, while transgender model Jari Jones walked for Collina Strada.

AGE

Age diversity was also up from last season. Spring 2022 boasted 35 over-50 models or 0.78 percent of total castings. For Fall 2021, there were only 16 over-50 model appearances. This season is still slightly down from the high of 44 over-50 models in Fall 2020, though.

Paris led the charge this time around with 18 appearances, followed by New York with 12 and Milan with five. Sadly, London had zero.

Balenciaga booked the most over-50 models with six. Iconic supermodel Naomi Campbell racked up the most appearances of all the over-50 models. Lanvin, Balmain and Versace were just a few of her highlights.

MOST AND LEAST DIVERSE SHOWS

Like last season, there was a mix of actual runway shows and lookbooks. Which can make it difficult to get a true sense of the most and least diverse presentations. While several reached the 100 percent mark, or conversely the 0 percent mark, it was sometimes because designers only hired one or two models.

The brands that hit the 100 percent diversity mark include Badgley Mischka (two out of two models of color) and 3.1 Phillip Lim (two of two) in New York; Eudon Choi (two of two) and Phoebe English (two of two) in London and Andrew Gn (two of two) and Paul Smith (two of two) in Paris.

New York’s Hellessy (one of one), Boss (one of one) and Simon Miller (one of one) also hit 100 percent as did A.P.C. (one of one) in Paris.

When it came to more traditional runway shows and larger presentations, Osman Yousefzada achieved 90 percent diversity (19 of 21). A few shows in New York, London and Paris reached the over 80 percent diversity mark. Kim Shui had 89 percent nonwhite models (33 of 37), Kenneth Ize had 83 percent (10 of 12), Fashion East had 81 percent (25 of 31) and Prabal Gurung had 81 percent (38 of 47).

Boss x Russell Athletic had the most diversity in Milan with 67 percent nonwhite models (20 of 30), followed by Roberto Cavalli with 66 percent (29 of 44) and Tod’s with 63 percent (26 of 41).

In terms of least diverse, Sachin & Babi, Sharon Wauchob, Undercover, Philipp Plein and Mila Schon had 0 percent diversity with zero out of two models of color. Maison Rabih Kayrouz, Vivienne Hu, Zero + Maria Cornejo, Les Copains, Bally, Krizia and Gabriele Colangelo also had 0 percent diversity with zero out of one models of color.

Etam had one of the largest groups walking the runway, but only had 27 percent nonwhite models (18 of 66). Bora Aksu had 32 percent (8 of 25), while Yohji Yamamoto had 29 percent (9 of 31), Dennis Basso had 27 percent (6 of 22), Rokh had 26 percent (10 of 39) and Maison Margiela with 25 percent (1 of 4). Coming in at less than 20 percent diversity were Libertine with 17 percent (1 of 6), Laura Biagiotti with 12 percent (3 of 26), Vivetta with 10 percent (1 of 10) and Zadig & Voltaire with 6 percent (1 of 16).

In closing, it’s important to keep the pandemic in mind when assessing our findings. Still, smaller shows and presentations shouldn’t be justification for brands to hire less diverse casts. With all that said, it was heartening to see a sustained upward increase in racial diversity this season over last season. And although size, age and gender diversity haven’t been able to meet or surpass previously held highs, they’ve at least begun to rebound.

Additional reporting by Mark E.

Only women and non-binary models are included in this data. Models of color are categorized as those who are nonwhite or of mixed backgrounds.

The post Report: Fashion Month Spring 2022 Is Officially the Most Racially Diverse Season Ever as Size, Age and Gender Representation See Slight Gains appeared first on theFashionSpot.

Representation at New York Fashion Week (and fashion month in general) had been impacted by the pandemic. Smaller shows and presentations led to fewer castings and sadly less diversity. It is certainly not an excuse by any means. Thankfully, the tide is changing. New York Fashion Week Spring 2022 brought more shows along with greater diversity when it came to race, size, age and gender.

We examined 1,252 model appearances across 61 presentations. A definite increase from last season which boasted 229 model appearances across 41 presentations. With gains across all categories, we hope that the downturn in diversity over the last few seasons is firmly behind us.

RACE

New York Fashion Week Spring 2022 is the second most diverse season on record with 55.5 percent models of color. Only Spring 2021 had a better outcome with a record-breaking 57.1 percent.

Fall 2021 previously held the second spot with 50.7 percent nonwhite models. This season’s model castings were considerably higher (Fall 2021 only had 229 model appearances). So that obviously made a huge difference.

TOP MODELS

Six out of the top 10 models at New York Fashion Week Spring 2022 were models of color. American model Cara Taylor, Japanese-French stunner Mika Schneider, Angolan beauty Blesnya Minher and American model Quinn Mora shared the top spot with 10 shows each. South Sudanese-American model Achenrin Madit was just behind with nine shows.

Senegalese-Australian rising star Akon Changkou along with British models Hannah Motler and Lara Mullen, American model Aviana McClish and stunner Saibatou Toure all had eight appearances this season.

Interestingly, Annibelis Baez, who was the top model for both New York’s Spring 2021 and Fall 2021 seasons, did not make it into the top 10 this time. Although she did have an impressive six appearances.

Age and gender diversity were not featured in the top 10 unlike last season, which had transgender representation.

PLUS-SIZE

This time around New York had 48 plus-size model appearances accounting for just under 4 percent of total castings. It is a marked increase from the measly six for Fall 2021. (For reference, the highest season on record was Spring 2020 with 68.)

An impressive 37 of the aforementioned 48 appearances (a little over 77 percent) belonged to models of color. Paloma Elsesser and Precious Lee had a great season walking in seven and six shows, respectively. While Devyn Garcia appeared in five shows. Jari Jones, who is also transgender, graced the Collina Strada runway.

Altuzarra, Prabal Gurung, Khaite, Brandon Maxwell, Coach, Gabriela Hearst, Chromat, Kim Shui, Michael Kors Collection and Tanya Taylor each featured more than one plus-size model. But Christian Siriano had the most with nine.

TRANSGENDER/NON-BINARY

Gender diversity increased five times compared to last season. There were 30 transgender/non-binary model appearances for Spring 2022 accounting for 2.40 percent of castings. Compare that figure to just six in Fall 2021. FYI: The highest total on record is 53 from Spring 2019.

Another positive sign? This season 15 out of those 30 appearances (50 percent) were models of color. The most inclusive show by far was Chromat, which featured the bulk of the transgender/non-binary castings with eight as well as one drag queen and one intersex casting. Jonathan Simkhai, Gabriela Hearst, The Blonds, Prabal Gurung, Collina Strada, Moschino and Batsheva all had more than one transgender or non-binary model.

AGE

Models over 50 made up just 0.96 percent of castings with a total of 12 appearances. Which is one of the better numbers we’ve seen. Fall 2020 saw 10 over-50 models, while Spring 2020 and Fall 2019 tied for the highest on record with 15 apiece. The figure is also sharply up from just three for Fall 2021 and four for Spring 2021, but those seasons had fewer total castings.
Of the aged castings this season, 8 out of the 12 were white. Last season all three castings were white so there is marginal improvement. Anh Duong, who is of Spanish and Vietnamese heritage, walked for Peter Do. While Veronica Webb represented Batsheva.

Collina Strada was responsible for the majority of over-50 castings with 5 of the 12, including two models of color. Eckhaus Latta had two aged models in its lineup.

MOST AND LEAST DIVERSE SHOWS

A smaller cast is a key factor when assessing the most and least diverse shows of Spring 2022. Badgley Mischka and 3.1 Phillip Lim both hit the 100 percent mark with each label hiring a total of two models of color to showcase their collections. Similarly, Hellessy, Boss and Simon Miller had 100 percent diversity by each casting one model of color for their presentations.
When it came to larger offerings, Kim Shui had 33 out of 37 models of color (89 percent) followed by Prabal Gurung with 38 out of 47 (81 percent) and PH5 with 4 out of 5 (80 percent).

At the opposite end of the spectrum, Sachin & Babi had 0 percent diversity with zero models of color out of two castings. Vivienne Hu and Zero + Maria Cornejo each featured zero models of color out of one casting. Libertine had 17 percent diversity with one out of six nonwhite models. While Dennis Basso had 27 percent with 6 out of 22.

The New York Fashion Week Spring 2022 shows demonstrate promise with diversity gains across the board and the numbers returning to pre-pandemic levels of representation. Historically, New York has been the most diverse fashion capital. But we’re hoping the diversity gains continue in London, Milan and Paris. Especially given the fact that Fashion Month Fall 2021 was the most racially diverse season ever.

Stay tuned.

Additional reporting by Mark E.

Only women and non-binary models are included in this data. Models of color are categorized as those who are nonwhite or of mixed backgrounds.

The post Report: Diversity Rebounds Across the Board at New York Fashion Week Spring 2022 appeared first on theFashionSpot.

Just like Spring 2021, Fashion Month Fall 2021 was deeply impacted by the pandemic. Obviously safety measures were in place with designers favoring everything from audience-free runway shows to lookbooks and videos. As with the previous season, the pandemic had an impact on diversity — not that it should be used as an excuse for letting representation slide. Despite the challenges, Fall 2021 still managed to make history.

We’ve tallied the totals across New York, London, Milan and Paris so keep reading to see how Fashion Month Fall 2021 stacked up.

RACE

Fall 2021 is officially the most racially diverse season on record. Fashion Month Fall 2021 had 1,641 model castings across 168 shows. Which resulted in a little over 43 percent of castings going to models of color. That’s almost a 2 percent increase from last season. Spring 2021 already had a slight increase compared to Fall 2020 with the former delivering 41.3 percent nonwhite models across 2,293 total model castings at 180 presentations.

Spring 2020 was previously the most diverse season ever with 41.5 percent models of color out of 7,390 model castings at 215 major shows. Considering Fall 2021 included fewer shows and castings, it is all the more heartening to see racial diversity reach a new milestone.

Going by city, London had the highest diversity percentage with 53.3 percent nonwhite models cast. An interesting development since New York is almost always the most diverse city. London’s number actually went up from Spring 2021’s 52 percent models of color. New York ranks second with 50.7 percent models of color, which is a staggering drop from its 57.1 percent total last season. Paris cast 43.8 percent models of color (a sizable jump compared to last season’s 38.9 percent) and Milan had only 37.6 percent. Milan was slightly up from 35.6 percent in Spring 2021.

TOP MODELS

Seven of the top 11 models were women of color. The most-booked model was France’s own Loli Bahia with 14 castings walking for many big names, including Chanel, Givenchy and Valentino. She even opened Ports 1961 and closed Fendi.

Close behind was Mika Schneider with 13. The French-Japanese model was selected by Louis Vuitton, Alberta Ferretti and Etro, to name just a few.

Androgynous model Miriam Sanchez appeared in 12 shows, opening both Etro and Sportmax and closing Alberta Ferretti. Barbara Valente, Yilan Hua and Awar Odhiang also had 12 castings each. While Sora Choi, Cyrielle Lalande and Kayako Higuchi walked away with 11 apiece. Akon Changkou and Steinberg round out the list with 10 appearances each.

Like last season, most of the top models earned most of their runway miles in Milan and Paris.

PLUS-SIZE

While racial diversity increased, size diversity was hit hard. For Fall 2021, there were only 19 plus-size model castings, making up a paltry 1.16 percent of castings. All the more jarring since last season saw 34 appearances. Not to mention Fall 2020’s 46 and Spring 2020’s 86, the highest on record.

New York booked the most with six, followed by Milan and Paris with five apiece. London came in last with just three.

New York’s six appearances were across five shows: Jason Wu, Gabriela Hearst, Collina Strada, Christian Cowan and Tanya Taylor. In Paris, we were treated to Jill Kortleve (Coperni and Chanel) and Paloma Elsesser (Chloe and Lanvin). Milan saw Precious Lee representing Versace and Moschino, Elsesser at Marni, Alva Claire at GCDS and Kortleve at Salvatore Ferragamo. Mark Fast booked two plus-size models (Ariish Wol and Taylah Kereama) over in London while Shawanda Corbett, who is disabled, appeared for JW Anderson.

On the positive side, all but one of the castings went to models of color.

TRANSGENDER/NON-BINARY

Fall 2021 showed a significant drop in gender diversity. There were 12 castings or just 0.73 percent of total castings. That figure is way down compared to Spring 2021’s 20. Fall 2020 saw 21, but previous seasons had well over twice that amount. For example, Spring 2020 had 46 and the highest ever was Spring 2019 with 91.

New York was the most gender-inclusive city with half of the castings. Christian Cowan hired non-binary models Parker Kit Hill and Richie Shazam. Transgender model Dara Allen appeared at Jason Wu and Prabal Gurung. Transgender model Ariel Nicholson walked for Gabriela Hearst. And Aaron Philip, who is transgender and disabled, was booked by Collina Strada.

Chloe selected Nicholson and non-binary model Kilian Smits. While transgender model Venus Liuzzo appeared for Koché. When it came to Milan, Nicholson was booked for Moschino and transgender model Daniela Santiago was picked by Roberto Cavalli. London only had a single booking courtesy of Osman selecting transgender model Sakeema Crook.

A little over half of the appearances went to models of color.


AGE

Age diversity also plummeted. Fall 2021 boasted 16 over-50 model appearances or 0.98 percent. That’s a 50 percent drop from Spring 2021’s 32 castings. Paris had the most with six, followed by Milan with four and New York and London had three each.

Marine Serre cast Amalia Vairelli and Kristina de Coninck. Dries Van Noten went with Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker and Suzi de Givenchy. Marie Beltrami was featured by Alexis Mabille and Vivienne Westwood took part in her namesake collection’s presentation.

Milan brought Maye Musk for Moschino, Elisabetta Dessy for Roberto Cavalli, Benedetta Barzini for Daniela Gregis and Julia Villahermosa for Antonio Marras. In New York, Amy Fine Collins modeled for Batsheva, Dorinda Medley for Christian Cowan and Kathleen Engman for Collina Strada. Erdem had two of London’s aged model castings (Elizabeth McGorian and Marguerite Porter). JW Anderson had the other with Magdalene Odundo.

Just three castings went to models of color: Vairelli, de Givenchy and Odundo.

MOST AND LEAST DIVERSE SHOWS

With different showcase formats, it’s not as easy to get a true sense of the most and least diverse shows. Many presentations reached the 100 percent mark or the 0 percent mark because designers hired only one or two models. So we have taken that into consideration.

The brands that achieved 100 percent include Kim Shui in New York (four out of four models of color), JW Anderson in London (three out of three) and Alaïa in Paris (three out of three). New York’s Elizabeth Kennedy also had 100 percent diversity with two out of two nonwhite models. So did 3.1 Phillip Lim and Adam Lippes, each hiring one nonwhite model.

London’s Preen by Thornton Bregazzi (two of two), Roksanda (one of one) and Halpern (one of one) had 100 percent diversity. As did Bally (one of one), Dundas (one of one) along with Stella Jean (two of two) in Milan. Paris saw A.P.C. (one of one), Barbara Bui (one of one) and Maison Rabih Kayrouz (one of one) reach 100 percent diversity.

When it came to more traditional runway shows, there was decent diversity. Chloe ended up with 63 percent models of color (17 out of 27). Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini had 61 percent nonwhite models (11 out of 18), while Mark Fast had 56 percent nonwhite models (9 out of 16). Ulla Johnson and Gabriela Hearst both rang in at 50 percent with shows featuring 22 and 20 total models, respectively.

In terms of least diverse shows, Valentin Yudashkin had 0 percent diversity with zero out of five. Elisabetta Franchi had just 16 percent models of color with only 5 out of 31. Antonio Marras had the same percentage with just 4 out of 25. Emporio Armani ranked toward the bottom with 20 percent having only 5 out of 25 models of color.

Dolce & Gabbana was one of the biggest shows with 59 model castings, but only 20 were models of color or 34 percent. Hermes only had 14 out of 46 models of color totaling 30 percent. Chanel booked 7 out of 21 models of color for 33 percent. Both Chanel and Dolce & Gabbana fared much better compared to Spring 2021, where they both had 19 percent with considerably larger casts. The Italian brand cast 98 total models with only 19 being nonwhite, while Chanel had 13 out of 70.

In closing, the pandemic definitely continues to impact the industry. But it shouldn’t be seen as a justification for brands to hire less diverse casts. While it’s incredible that Fall 2021 is now the most racially diverse on record, we can’t ignore the losses felt across the size, age and gender categories. Moving forward, we hope to see substantial upticks across all fields.

Additional reporting by Mark E.

Only women and non-binary models are included in this data. Models of color are categorized as those who are nonwhite or of mixed backgrounds.

The post Report: Fashion Month Fall 2021 Is the Most Racially Diverse Season on Record, but Size, Age and Gender Representation Plunge appeared first on theFashionSpot.

We’re always cautiously optimistic when it comes to diversity in fashion. Sure, we’ve been let down a time or two. But like any worthwhile relationship, we hang in hoping that, at some point, the good outweighs the bad. Sadly, we’re going through a rough patch right now as evidenced by New York Fashion Week Fall 2021.

Obviously, the pandemic had a direct impact. Fewer designers participated and actual runway shows were few and far between. Although, we faced similar challenges during the Spring 2021 season and New York delivered its most diverse season ever. So what happened?

RACE

We reviewed 229 model appearances across 41 presentations compared to 287 model appearances across 48 presentations last season. The shrinking pool may account for some of the downturn for Fall 2021. This season boasted 50.7 percent models of color. While that may seem impressive, it’s down from 57.1 percent for Spring 2021. The constraints of showing during a pandemic could be partly to blame. But we have to wonder if the quest for social justice is no longer front of mind.

Even with the drop, Fall 2021 is officially the second most diverse season of New York Fashion Week since we started keeping track during the Spring 2015 season.

TOP MODELS

Annibelis Baez once again came out on top. The top model of Spring 2021 once again appeared in four shows. The Afro-Dominican beauty took part in Ulla Johnson, Jason Wu, Jonathan Simkhai and Prabal Gurung.

American model Effie Steinberg was close behind with three appearances. Namely Jason Wu, Gabriela Hearst and Proenza Schouler. While many models tied for third with two shows apiece, it’s important to highlight the fact that Dara Allen is among them. The transgender model represented Jason Wu and Prabal Gurung.

PLUS-SIZE

Size representation dropped this season, from 12 plus-size model appearances in Spring 2021 to just six for Fall 2021. What makes it all the more depressing is the fact that Spring 2021’s total was already a dramatic dip compared to 27 for Fall 2020.

The six appearances came courtesy of five designers: Gabriela Hearst, Jason Wu, Collina Strada, Tanya Taylor and Christian Cowan. On the bright side, all but one of the plus-size castings went to models of color. But age and gender representation were not present.

TRANSGENDER/NON-BINARY

Transgender and non-binary models saw a five-point drop in representation going from 11 in Spring 2021 to six for Fall 2021. Ariel Nicholson walked for Gabriela Hearst. As previously mentioned, Dara Allen was tapped by Jason Wu and Prabal Gurung. Christian Cowan picked non-binary models Parker Kit Hill and Richie Shazam. And Aaron Philip once again represented Collina Strada.

Despite the overall dip, it’s an encouraging sign that five out of the six appearances went to models of color. It’s also great to see a disabled model (Philip) in the Fall 2021 lineup.

AGE

Models over 50 saw the smallest decline from Spring 2021. Seeing as how last season’s count was only four, it’s not exactly good news. Especially if you consider the fact that Fall 2020 saw 10 over-50 models and both Spring 2020 and Fall 2019 rang in at 15.

As if that weren’t enough, all three of this season’s hires were white. Collina Strada brought back Kathleen Engman. Christian Cowan enlisted former The Real Housewives of New York City cast member Dorinda Medley. And Amy Fine Collins modeled for Batsheva.

MOST AND LEAST DIVERSE SHOWS

Four brands reached the 100 percent diverse mark for Fall 2021. But they accomplished this feat with smaller casts. Adam Lippes hired one model of color to model the entire collection solo as did 3.1 Phillip Lim. Elizabeth Kennedy booked two models and both were models of color. Kim Shui enlisted four models, all of them models of color.

Other top performers? Anna Sui (80 percent or four out of five), Prabal Gurung (75 percent or three out of four) and Sally LaPointe (75 percent or three out of four).

On the other end of the diversity spectrum, we saw a few familiar names. Once again Claudia Li and Katie Gallagher made the least diverse list with 0 percent models of color or zero out of two and 0 percent or zero out of one, respectively. Bevza also returned, but increased its tally from 0 percent in Spring 2021 to 18 percent models of color or 2 out of 11 for Fall 2021.

Rounding out the not-so-prestigious list are Tadashi Shoji (0 percent or zero out of two) and Vivienne Hu (0 percent or zero out of one).

While we’re disappointed that diversity took a nosedive for Fall 2021, it wasn’t totally unexpected. We even expressed our concerns that the increase was only temporary in last season’s report. Frankly, we kind of expected to see one more season of gains before the bottom fell out. But we’re hoping that drawing attention to the current state of diversity in the industry will inspire, nay compel, designers to do everything they can to send the numbers back up in the right direction.

Additional reporting by Mark E.

Only women and non-binary models are included in this data. Models of color are categorized as those who are nonwhite or of mixed backgrounds.

The post Report: Diversity Down in Every Category at New York Fashion Week Fall 2021 appeared first on theFashionSpot.

This year was unlike any other. Between the ongoing pandemic and the fight against racial injustice, it’s no wonder people can’t wait for 2021 to arrive. But before embracing the new year, we need to take a step back and acknowledge all the highs and lows of 2020.

Although there’s been no shortage of lows, one good thing did come out of 2020. An uptick in diversity on magazine covers. Of course this year’s findings come with caveats. Obviously, the pandemic impacted magazines’ ability to stage photoshoots to capture those oh-so-glamorous covers we all know and love. So many publications got creative. Some switched to digital editions. Some relied on illustrations or previously unpublished photos. And some even asked their cover subjects to snap their own cover-worthy images. Note: We did not include digital or illustrated covers in this report.

Another thing to keep in mind is that lots of publications responded to all the racial unrest by picking more diverse cover stars. From models to actors to activists, mags definitely made an effort to broaden their horizons.

Read on to discover how 2020 magazine covers fared on all diversity fronts.

RACE

We examined 791 cover appearances across 50 major magazines and found a dramatic increase in representation. This year saw 48.8 percent models of color compared to last year’s 36.9 percent. That’s an uptick of almost 12 points. It’s important to note that 2019’s number actually dropped from 2018, which rang in at 37.7 percent, making this rebound even more impressive. (This increase has to be viewed in the context of all that’s happened this year.)

MOST AND LEAST DIVERSE

Once again Vogue Taiwan managed to cast 100 percent models of color (16 out of 16). This marks the sixth straight year the mag achieved such a feat. Vogue Singapore also came in at 100 percent (five out of five) as did The Gentlewoman (two out of two). Vogue India, another familiar face in the most diverse category, had 91 percent models of color (21 out of 23). Both Vogue Arabia and Vogue Korea reached 83 percent (20 out of 24 and 10 out of 12 respectively).

When it came to the least diverse mags of 2020, several international editions of Vogue made this less distinguished list. Paper technically also appears, but all but one of its issues were digital and since digital covers were not included in this report, its low diversity tally must be considered in context. Vogue Poland and Vogue Ukraine each had 11 percent models of color (both one out of nine); Vogue Spain and Vogue Russia had 15 percent models of color (both 2 out of 13).

PLUS-SIZE

Plus-size model appearances also got a bit of a bump coming in at 21 or 2.66 percent. An increase from 2019 which saw 15 castings or 2.01 percent. That means 2020 is the most size-inclusive year since we started keeping track back in 2016.

Jill Kortleve appeared the most times landing four covers: Vogue Japan, Vogue Netherlands, Vogue Paris and American Vogue. Both Ashley Graham and Paloma Elsesser landed three covers apiece. Graham graced American Vogue and both the U.S. and U.K. editions of Harper’s Bazaar. Elsesser appeared on the cover of i-D, Vogue Italia and American Vogue.

Another encouraging sign is the fact that out of the 21 plus-size appearances, the vast majority, 16, went to women of color.

AGE

Women over 50 saw the biggest increase, almost doubling last year’s record 41 cover appearances. (It is worth noting that there were also 41 cover appearances in 2018.) We largely have Vogue Italia to thank for the uptick since the mag produced a staggering 100 covers for its September issue. Everyone from Pat Cleveland to Patti Hansen to Bethann Hardison earned solo covers.

Several actresses over 50 scored covers this year. Angela Bassett, Cate Blanchett, Nicole Kidman, Halle Berry, Helen Mirren, Salma Hayek and Sharon Stone to name just a handful. Both Jennifer Lopez and Viola Davis popped up on three covers this year. Plus, we were also treated to supermodels Christy Turlington and Cindy Crawford.

We definitely have to give props to Edward Enninful over at British Vogue for making history with a stunning June cover of a then 85-year-old Judi Dench. Vogue Mexico also deserves recognition for featuring five 50-plus cover stars with one identifying as transgender on its May/June edition.

TRANSGENDER/NON-BINARY

Gender diversity received a far smaller bump compared to 2019. Last year only had seven cover appearances, while 2020 saw 12. That’s only 1.52 percent, but at least it’s progress. Especially considering that 2019’s figure was three points below 2018’s 10 so at least we’re once again headed in the right direction.

Indya Moore led the way with three appearances for Vogue Spain, Wonderland and Vogue Italia. Hunter Schafer starred on two striking covers for Allure and V Magazine. Paloma Elsesser’s sibling Ama Elsesser, who identifies as non-binary, was featured on i-D. Arca, Ariel Nicholson, Janet Mock, Mykki Blanco, Ryan Destiny and Verónica García also appeared on one cover each. It’s also a positive sign that the majority of appearances belonged to models of color.

There were also three drag queen cover appearances in 2020. Granted, they all came courtesy of one magazine. Gloria Groove, Pabllo Vittar and Uyra Sodoma all appeared on Vogue Brazil for October.

TOP MODELS

Bella Hadid reigned supreme covering eight magazines this year. The in-demand model represented Love, V Magazine, Vogue Japan, Vogue Korea, Vogue Paris, Vogue Greece, Vogue Hong Kong and Vogue Italia.

Irina Shayk also had a strong showing this year with seven Vogue covers: Germany, Japan, Russia, U.K., Czechoslovakia, Greece and Italia. Binx Walton, Kaia Gerber and Zendaya tied for third with six apiece. Last year’s co-top model Adut Akech, Anok Yai and Hailey Bieber round out the list each landing five cover appearances.

Out of the top eight cover models of 2020, five were women of color. As per usual, size, age and gender diversity were absent from the top model rankings.

LOOKING FORWARD

With such a strong diversity showing this year, we’re nervous that 2021 will see a steep decline. Especially if everything that made 2020, well, 2020 fades away. While we’d like to be optimistic and admit there were some encouraging signs (including disability activist Alice Wong appearing on the cover of British Vogue), there are so many asterisks attached to this year’s data that there’s nowhere left to go but down.

Despite this lingering concern, we’d like to put out a call to action to all mags to continue embracing diversity in all its forms from here on out. Prove to us and the world that 2020 is not a one-year wonder. Let’s aim to rise above 50 percent and prove that lasting diversity across all categories is possible.

With additional reporting by Mark E.

For the purpose of this report, “model” is anyone who appears on a cover, even if modeling is not their profession. Models of color are categorized as those who are nonwhite or of mixed backgrounds.

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We knew pulling off fashion weeks in New York, London, Milan and Paris would be tough during a pandemic. With safety protocols and alternative showcases like lookbooks and videos, the fashion world managed to get it done. Now the diversity numbers are in and, frankly, they’re not great. A bit surprising given all the calls for equality in the industry. But we’d be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge the ongoing health crisis as a contributing factor. Not that it excuses the lack of any real progress on all the diversity fronts. We can and must do better.

RACE

First, let’s give credit where credit is due. The Spring 2021 season saw a very slight increase in the number of nonwhite model appearances. It went up from 40.6 percent in Fall 2020 to 41.3 percent this time around. In other words, less than one percentage point. But we must look at the minor jump in context. For Fall 2020, there were 6,879 total model castings across 194 shows. This season, due to the pandemic, there were only 2,293 total model castings across 180 presentations. Which makes the small increase from last season more significant since there were less castings and fewer shows. Fashion Month Spring 2021 is actually now the second most diverse season ever following a history-making Spring 2020 season that boasts 41.5 percent models of color (out of 7,390 model castings at 215 major shows).

If you break things down by city, New York had the highest rate of models of color at 57.1 percent. (Compare that to Fall 2020’s 43.6 percent.) Then comes London with 52 percent. London also managed to outdo itself since its Fall 2020 figure was only 43.8 percent. Paris cast 38.9 percent, leaving Milan in last place with 35.6 percent. More troubling is the fact that both Milan and Paris had lower rates than last season. Milan dropped from 36.6 percent to 35.6 percent; Paris went from 39.3 percent to 38.9 percent.

TOP MODELS

We’re happy to report that the top two models of the month are women of color. Maty Fall led the charge with an impressive 18 appearances. The Senegal born, Italy raised model appeared in some of the biggest shows of the season, too. Like Burberry, Fendi, Versace, Christian Dior, Chanel and more. Hailing from East Africa, Malika Louback was close behind with 16 appearances.

He Cong, Felice Noordhoff, Sacha Quenby, Sculy Mejia, Mika Schneider and androgynous model Miriam Sanchez all tied for third with 13 shows apiece. Rounding out the list are Valerie Scherzinger with 12, Amar Akway with 11, Lulu Tenney with 11, Mathilde Henning with 11 and Sarah Dahl with 11. When you add it all up, 7 out of the top 13 models were women of color.

Interestingly, none of the top models appeared in New York. In fact, most stuck to Milan and Paris.

PLUS-SIZE

Plus-size representation plummeted this season. It went from 46 for Fall 2020 to only 34 for Spring 2021. That’s only 1.48 percent for the whole month.

Milan booked the most with 14. Followed by New York with 12, Paris with five and London had only three. In Milan, both Jill Kortleve and Paloma Elsesser appeared in three shows. The former walked for Fendi, Versace and Etro. The latter was spotted at Fendi, Marni and Salvatore Ferragamo. Ashley Graham represented both Fendi and Etro. Nathalia Novaes walked for Blumarine and DROMe. Alva Claire and Precious Lee were cast for Versace. Zinzi Fauci for Valentino and Isabelle Adams at Marni wrap things up.

In New York, 12 appearances were spread across five shows. Claire, Kimberly Drew and Precious Okoyomon were cast by Collina Strada. Ingrid Medeiros, Kylie Frink, Lauren Chan (who also popped up at Veronica Beard) and Sabina Karlsson walked for Christian Siriano. Over at Christian Cowan it was Jari Jones and Rachel Cargle. Maya Finoh for Chromat and Elsesser for Eckhaus Latta finish off the list.

Moving on to Paris, Kortleve was at it again walking for Chanel and Coperni. Jana Plesnikova and Julia Lamarque were at Etam. Last but not least, Novaes represented Balmain.

London’s three plus-size models were Tess McMillan for Simone Rocha, Jade O Belle for Gareth Pugh and Honey Ross for Roksanda.

It’s also noteworthy that 15 of Spring 2021’s plus-size castings went to women of color.

TRANSGENDER/NON-BINARY

Gender diversity suffered a slight setback for Spring 2021. Only 20 appearances occurred, Fall 2020 saw 21. But both numbers are pretty paltry compared to the other fashion months. (We’re talking less than half of the last few seasons.)

Milan was the worst offender with only one casting. Transgender model Valentina Sampaio walked down Etro’s runway. Also of note is the fact that androgynous model Miriam Sanchez racked up six castings in the Italian city.

Across the pond, London saw just three castings. Gareth Pugh was responsible for two of those appearances enlisting non-binary model Finn Love and transgender model Sakeema Crook. The brand also cast drag queen Georgie Bee. Naturally, Riccardo Tisci picked his muse Lea T to walk for Burberry.

In Paris, Koché picked transgender models Dustin Muchuvitz and Venus Liuzzo. Muchuvitz also represented Paul & Joe. Balenciaga went with Gigi Hari, while Maxim Magnus hit the runway for Ralph & Russo. (Sanchez had another great showing in the City of Light racking up seven appearances.)

New York had far and away the most transgender/non-binary appearances with 11. Aaron Philip represented Collina Strada. Amanda Lepore, Isis King, Jari Jones and Teddy Quinlivan were hired by Christian Cowan. Jason Wu tapped Ariel Nicholson and Indya Moore. R13 enlisted Ella Snyder, Kim Shui picked Fabiana Montenegro, Eckhaus Latta had Hari Nef and Maya Mones modeled for Chromat.

Three drag queens were also booked. Christian Cowan had Symone and Violet Chachki. Collina Strada hired West Dakota. It was almost an even split between white and nonwhite models. Even more encouraging is the fact that Lepore also falls into the age category and Jones is a plus-size model.

Only nine of all castings in this category went to models of color.

AGE

Just like with plus-size castings, bookings of models over 50 plunged. Fall 2020 saw 44, while this season dropped to 32. Paris delivered the vast majority ringing in at 20. Amalia Vairelli led the pack with four castings: Balmain, Marine Serre, Kenneth Ize and Ami. Actually, Balmain was responsible for plenty of the over 50 castings. In addition to Vairelli, the brand also selected Sonia Itchi, Axelle Doué, Charlotte Flossault and Violetta Sanchez. Another big booker? Balenciaga. The fashion house added many 50-plus models to its roster, including Minttu Vesala and Suzi de Givenchy. Hilary Lloyd and Kristina de Coninck (who also appeared for Marine Serre) represented Loewe. Ralph & Russo hired Marie Helvin, while Vivienne Westwood enlisted Sara Stockbridge and herself for Spring 2021.

New York, London and Milan all tied with four over 50 model appearances apiece. In New York, supermodel Helena Christensen modeled for Christian Cowan. As did Amanda Lepore and Susanne Bartsch. Collina Strada enlisted Kathleen Engman.

London featured Ruth Chapman for Emilia Wickstead, Wendy Freeman for Phoebe English and two 50-plus women for Roksanda. In Milan, Fendi gave us three out of that city’s four castings. Cecilia Chancellor, Penelope Tree and Yasmin Le Bon all walked for the fashion house. Meanwhile, Benedetta Barzini was picked by Daniela Gregis.

Sadly, only four of the month’s 32 appearances were women of color. And they all appeared in Paris.

MOST AND LEAST DIVERSE SHOWS

It’s a little tricky to crown the most and least diverse shows this season. Thanks to the pandemic, lots of brands scaled things back and only hired a model or two, which skews the numbers.

In New York we were pleasantly surprised to see one of last season’s least diverse shows move into the most diverse category. Cinq à Sept went from 24 percent for Fall 2020 to 100 percent for Spring 2021. Others reaching the 100 percent diversity mark include Adeam, Thakoon, Pamella Roland, Zero + Maria Cornejo, Bibhu Mohapatra, Chromat and Tomo Koizumi. With Thakoon, Pamella Roland and Zero + Maria Cornejo each only booking one model.

London’s “winners” were Fashion East with 100 percent (six out of six models of color), Osman with 100 percent (three out of three models of color), Toga with 100 percent (two out of two models of color), Halpern with 100 percent (one out of one models of color) and Richard Malone with 100 percent (one out of one models of color).

Over in Milan, Gabriele Colangelo hired two out of two models of color for 100 percent and Ermanno Scervino got to the 100 percent mark with one model of color.

Kenneth Ize topped the most diverse list in Paris with 100 percent (four out of four models of color). Nina Ricci and Uma Wang were also at 100 percent thanks to casting two out of two models of color.

When it comes to the least diverse shows, Snow Xue Gao, Marina Moscone, Claudia Li, Bevza, Libertine, Dennis Basso, Nicholas K and Katie Gallagher opted for zero models of color in New York. London’s Paul Smith, Sharon Wauchob, Phoebe English and Jenny Packham all hit 0 percent by each casting one white model. Milan had many 0 percent models of color contenders. Arthur Arbesser, Giada and Dsquared2 all cast two white models. Emilio Pucci, Les Copains, Krizia, Vivetta and Dundas opted for one white model. Paris was also full of brands that hit the 0 percent mark. Maison Margiela enlisted zero models of color out of five; Vivienne Westwood and Leonard hired zero models of color out of three. Olivier Theyskens, Barbara Bui, Alexis Mabille, Valentin Yudashkin, Ellery, Emanuel Ungaro and Zadig & Voltaire decided on one white model.

We also want to point out that both Dolce & Gabbana and Chanel didn’t do too well when it came to racial diversity. The Italian brand only came in at 19 percent with just 19 models of color appearances out of 98. Chanel was also at 19 percent thanks to just 13 nonwhite appearances out of 70. If you’re thinking these numbers are so low due to the high number of models cast, we’d like to direct your attention to Christian Dior. Out of 75 model appearances 28 of those belong to models of color for a more respectable 37 percent.

In closing, it’s important to keep the pandemic in mind when assessing our findings. With that being said, many brands could have tried harder to include models of color in their Spring 2021 lineups. While it’s great to see the racial diversity rate swinging back upward, the fact that it still falls short of Spring 2020 has us concerned. We’re hoping that numbers continue to increase as we move forward in every single category.

Additional reporting by Mark E.

Only women and non-binary models are included in this data. Models of color are categorized as those who are nonwhite or of mixed backgrounds.

The post Report: Racial Diversity Ticks Up Slightly, Size, Age and Gender Representation All Drop for Fashion Month Spring 2021 appeared first on theFashionSpot.

We knew heading into the Spring 2021 season that things would look a bit different. Thanks to the ongoing pandemic, pulling off traditional runway shows became a whole lot trickier. For some designers, the risks outweighed the benefits. Others opted to showcase their wares in other formats, like lookbooks and video presentations. All of these adjustments definitely had an impact on our diversity findings. Some for the better, others not so much.

RACE

After reviewing 287 model appearances across 48 “shows,” New York Fashion Week Spring 2021 saw a pretty significant bump in racial diversity. This season boasted 57.1 percent models of color way up from Fall 2020’s 43.6 percent. The increase may be explained by the decrease in designers showing in New York this season. Or the fact that the fashion world suddenly grew a conscience after social injustice found its way back into the spotlight. (We hope neither is the main motivator since we’re looking for long-lasting diversity, not temporary appeasement.)

Whatever the reason, Spring 2021 is now New York’s most racially diverse season since we started keeping track during the Spring 2015 season. While we’ll take what we can get, we’re worried that come Fall 2021, we’ll see a swing back in the other direction.

TOP MODELS

We’re happy to report that the top model of New York Fashion Week Spring 2021 is a woman of color. Afro-Dominican beauty Annibelis Baez appeared in four shows. (Compare that with last season when top South Korean model and street style star Sora Choi, British-Moroccan beauty Nora Attal, the United States’ own Abby Champion, U.K. native Lara Mullen, familiar French face Cyrielle Lalande, Josefine Lynderup from Denmark and Chinese model Yilan Hua all tied for the top spot by walking in 11 shows.)

Sasha Knysh scored the second spot appearing in a grand total of three shows. She and Baez both walked for Jason Wu and Ulla Johnson. Baez also represented R13 and Theory, while Knysh modeled for Anna Sui.

Once again, size, age and gender representation was missing from the top models list.

PLUS-SIZE

Sadly, plus-size representation dipped from last season. For Spring 2021, there were only 12 plus-size model appearances. That’s down from 27 for Fall 2020. And way down from Spring 2020 when a record 68 plus-size models took part.

And those 12 appearances were only spread across five shows. Alva Claire, Kimberly Drew and Precious Okoyomon were cast by Collina Strada. Ingrid Medeiros, Kylie Frink, Lauren Chan (who also popped up at Veronica Beard) and Sabina Karlsson walked for Christian Siriano. Over at Christian Cowan it was Jari Jones and Rachel Cargle. Maya Finoh for Chromat and Paloma Elsesser for Eckhaus Latta finish off the list.

The good news? A majority of plus-size castings (9 out of 12) went to models of color. Jones is also transgender so there was crossover appeal.

TRANSGENDER/NON-BINARY

Transgender and non-binary models only saw a slight uptick in representation for Spring 2021. The total rose from 10 for Fall 2020 to 11 in Spring 2021. Still, it pales in comparison to Spring 2020’s 36.

Aaron Philip represented Collina Strada. Amanda Lepore, Isis King, Jari Jones and Teddy Quinlivan were hired by Christian Cowan. Jason Wu tapped Ariel Nicholson and Indya Moore. R13 enlisted Ella Snyder, Kim Shui picked Fabiana Montenegro, Eckhaus Latta had Hari Nef and Maya Mones modeled for Chromat.

Three drag queens were also booked this season. Christian Cowan had Symone and Violet Chachki. Collina Strada hired West Dakota.

It was almost a 50/50 split between white and nonwhite models. Even more encouraging is the fact that Lepore also falls into the age category and Jones is a plus-size model.

AGE

Only four over 50 models were cast for Spring 2021. That’s way down from 10 just a season ago. Supermodel Helena Christensen modeled for Christian Cowan. As did Amanda Lepore and Susanne Bartsch. Collina Strada enlisted Kathleen Engman.

As if only four hires wasn’t depressing enough, all four were white. One positive? Lepore is also transgender.

MOST AND LEAST DIVERSE SHOWS

We were pleasantly surprised to see one of last season’s least diverse shows move into the most diverse category. Cinq à Sept went from 24 percent for Fall 2020 to 100 percent for Spring 2021. Others reaching the 100 percent diversity mark include Adeam, Thakoon, Pamella Roland, Zero + Maria Cornejo, Bibhu Mohapatra, Chromat and Tomo Koizumi. With Thakoon, Pamella Roland and Zero + Maria Cornejo each only booking one model.

Perhaps more telling is the latest list of least diverse shows. Snow Xue Gao, Marina Moscone, Claudia Li, Bevza, Libertine, Dennis Basso, Nicholas K and Katie Gallagher opted for zero models of color.

In closing, only time will tell if the gains and losses of New York’s Spring 2021 season indicate any real change. One of the most encouraging signs? Two disabled models were cast. Emily Barker and Aaron Philip appeared for Collina Strada. But we’ll always have to associate the pandemic and civil unrest with this season so it may not fall in line with ones to come. We just have to remain positive and diligent to ensure real change occurs.

Additional reporting by Mark E.

Only women and non-binary models are included in this data. Models of color are categorized as those who are nonwhite or of mixed backgrounds.

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