Diversity is the talk of the fashion world at the moment. Conde Nast just announced their plans to launch a Philippine edition of their global fashion magazine Vogue, and British Vogue’s February cover featuring nine African models was hailed as “redefining what it means to be a fashion model”.

 The pandemic has created an unstable landscape in which all players, big and small, are fighting for our attention and our money. And the winners it seems, are those who are embracing ‘diversity’ — whatever that means. Much has been made of fashion’s ‘racial reckoning’ in light of 2020’s global protests for racial justice, which prompted revelations of injustice and indignities suffered by people of color at all levels and branches of the fashion industry.

 The subsequent outrage and demands for restitution prompted promises from the industry to do better — although two years later, the jury remains out on to what extent that promise has been kept. However, the fashion industry’s problems run much deeper than a desperate need for representation at all levels and a healthy work environment for people of color. If lasting change is the goal, then it is necessary to dissect the idea of fashion itself, and the meanings it creates for how we see the world.

Like TS Studios on Facebook here, Follow TS Studios on Twitter here and watch TS Studios video here.