London, United Kingdom – In September last year, fashion weeks were held in the cultural powerhouse cities of New York, London, Milan and Paris as part of the Spring/Summer 2021 season.
Overall, 41.3 percent of models were people of colour, a slight increase from the previous season, which had a rate of 40.6 percent, according to The Fashion Spot, an online magazine that monitors diversity in the industry.
However, with the next round of fashion weeks to begin on Sunday, critics say last season’s marginally improved figure was a show of tokenism.
They believe much more needs to be done to achieve real diversity – both in front of and behind the camera – while collectively trying to shift industry attitudes to achieve fundamental change.