By Brett Simon, Visibility Director -
Since when has 120 pounds been too many for a 5-foot-10-inch woman? Since Ralph Lauren fired Filippa Hamilton in April 2009 for being too heavy.
Regardless, the company continues to use her image for promotional purposes in advertisements that have been stirring up controversy. In a recent ad, run only in Japan, Hamilton’s body is so severely distorted that her waist appears thinner than her head.
Since when has it been okay to smudge some blackface onto a white fashion model in the name of art and style? Apparently since French Vogue stuck Dutch model Lara Stone into its October “Supermodel” issue, painted her black, and sat back to see if anyone would notice.
I’m not going to discuss the specific ethical implications of retouching a model in an advertisement, or even the racial tensions that blackface in any form has the potential to ignite. I just want to ask one question: Why is being who we are never enough?
The fashion industry uses its inaccessibility and celebrity as pretense for being edgy, exotic, and original. In our daily lives, we trust clothing to cover up our bulky parts, our scars, and our ugliness. A cashmere sweater makes a perfect second skin for those of us who are too ashy and rough. A fabulous pair of statement earrings draws on-looking eyes up and away from the less than svelte body below.
Fashion can make you fantastic. It can also make you someone you are not. The fine line falls between feeling so amazing in something that your confidence is boosted, and you’re ready for that sexy night out on the town and obsessing over that newfound confidence to such a degree that you, frankly, become a b****. The fashion industry at large has let this confidence consume them. No longer are they content with average, typical, or classic. No longer are we comfortable with ourselves as we are.
Ralph Lauren was no longer comfortable with an already medically underweight Filippa Hamilton. The company said that Hamilton was released “as a result of her inability to meet the obligations under her contract with us.” In the same statement, the company said that their former model is “beautiful and healthy.”
Well, I’m sorry, but is being “beautiful and healthy” not the job of a model? Judging from other recent pictures, Hamilton pulls off the role flawlessly,and should be very happy with her appearance
“I was shocked to see that super skinny girl with my face,” Hamilton said to the “NY Daily News.” “It’s very sad, I think, that Ralph Lauren could do something like that.”
It is very sad, indeed, that the stunning reality of Filippa Hamilton was not quite stunning enough.
Lara Stone appearing in blackface is somewhat different, and also slightly more bothersome. The issue here was not size but race. We may be more conscious of color here in America than they are in France, but ignorance is really no excuse when it comes to such long standing matters of racial equality and discrimination. In decades past, white performers used blackface to mock and denigrate black people as buffoons and beasts.
The only buffoons here are the editors at French Vogue who decided that their white model should really be black. It could be suggested that Stone’s whiteness was not good enough. Then why not find a black model?
When you think of the most spectacular black women in fashion, you think of Chanel Iman, Naomi Campbell, Alex Wek, and Tyra Banks (a size 8!), yet none of these women were photographed for this supposed “supermodel” issue. In fact, not one black or Asian model made the cut. The issue is entirely white.
The idea that nothing is ever good enough is the latest trend spreading throughout our lives and our culture. I would never suggest that the fashion industry should back down from pushing the envelope in terms of style and art, but it needs to be careful.
It’s encouraging to see that the backlash against Ralph Lauren and French Vogue is coming from regular folks, as well as those involved with the industry. We all need to take steps toward being okay with who we are. Cover up those ashy arms with a sweater, but don’t think you’re any less of a person because you forgot to moisturize.
Recently, I took a tube of lipstick to my friend’s mirror: I AM BEAUTIFUL. She was surprised that I’d had the gall to write on her mirror, but even more surprised at how beautiful she felt
Thankyou for writing this article, I found it an informed and well thought out insight into the world of fashion modelling. The subject matter does tend to cause a sigh of exasperation to escape my lips – catwalk models too skinny? What’s new. However, i feel as though Ralph Lauren deserve as much public slamming for the Hamilton stunt as possible, so well done on that.
Howver, my one point I’d like to raise for discussion is the issue with the “black face” shoot that was done by French Vogue. Firstly, having seen (and enjoyed) the shoot, I would hardly call it ‘black face’ since the model’s entire body was evenly painted brown, not just her face painted a stark, contrasting black. Semantics? Perhaps, but perhaps not when we consider the rich French cultural background of theatrical costume, bodypainting and performance art. I do agree with your point that the shoot could have just as easily been done by a black model, but can you not concede that a (perhaps) misguided artistic vision may have seen a white girl in this role rather than a racial issue.
Secondly, your comment “We may be more conscious of color here in America than they are in France, but ignorance is really no excuse when it comes to such long standing matters of racial equality and discrimination.” is an interesting one for a few reasons, but the most prevailing amongst them is the fact that this French Vogue spread was shot by Steven Klein – an American. Now I know that the photographer doesn’t have ALL the power in the world in a situation like this, but surely, if he had felt that the shoot was being conducted in a spirit that was breaching American cultural and ethical standards then why would he not suggest something different?
And let us not forget that racial tolerance and cultural understanding has a long way to go in the US before we go after the French, who have a far less sordid historical AND contemporary track record.