The retired supermodel discussed how diversity in fashion has evolved over the years and reflected on a time when Black models struggled to get work in the 2010s – and how she, Naomi Campbell and Bethann Hardison helped change that.

When you think of iconic supermodels, Iman is one of the first that springs to mind.

The Somali model changed the landscape of the fashion industry after making her debut inVogue in 1976 and dominating runways from Halston to Yves Saint Laurent.

Over the years, Iman has seen first hand how the industry has evolved, stagnated and picked up again over the course of her career – and she has recently reflected on this very issue.

In an interview with W, the supermodel discussed diversity in the fashion industry, and highlighted how things were much more diverse in the 70s and 80s in comparison to the last 20-30 years – and, in particular, the absence of Black models on runways in the early to mid-2010s.

“It was 2013 when it became quite evident that there was an absence of Black models in advertising, but more important on the runway,” Iman told W.

“That was the place that they’d always used Black models and all of a sudden they were completely absent.”

Iman says that the lack of Black models on the runway and in fashion ads coincided with the rise of eastern European models becoming the go-to during that time.

“The eastern European countries started to open, and there was an influx of eastern European models – and there are no Black eastern Europeans,” she recalls. “There were all these white, teen skinny girls that washed up on the shores of fashion.”

She adds that the 90s saw the emergence of supermodels eclipsing designers and becoming the focal point – something that designers may not have been keen on.

“I think designers wanted to get away from the cult of the supermodel or the cult of identity. A lot of models had become more famous than designers. So they wanted all the girls to look the same. The same hair, the same make-up, how they walked.”

The lack of opportunities available to Black models at that time led Iman, along with Naomi Campbell and Bethann Hardison, to “check what was going on”.

“When it came to Black models, it wasn’t just less, it was a total absence. Once Bethann, Naomi and I started talking to the press, writing letters to the CFDA [Council of Fashion Designers of America] and designers in Europe, and making it really public, a bit of change started to happen. 

“What made it feel like we were really heard was when Miuccia Prada started hiring Black models on the runway and putting them in her ads. That was a major cultural shift.”

Since then, we’ve started to see a shift with more Black and POC models on the runway – and the emergence of social media has allowed for more diversity to flourish, from race to body types.

“What social media has given to Black models is a platform, and every model is grateful for that – that’s all she wants, to get the opportunity to get a yea or nay from the designer.

“There are models who were discovered on social media, and that takes some power away from the casting agents. People are looking outside of the box, and that leads to more diversity. And that brought in a lot of other kinds of diversity – body positivity, different heights. The standards were removed. The change was visible.”

Image: Getty

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