It would take hundreds if not thousands of pages to unpack the countless ways the fashion industry has failed at diversity in its history. But after the year we’ve had, it didn’t feel right to start with anything else. Plenty before me have listed those failures as a means to shame and ridicule designers and the brands they represent (and rightfully so), but here, I want to point out a few key areas that converge as a path of opportunity.
There is an inherent dichotomy in the way fashion has treated diversity. The first part is representation, dismantling the unrealistic physical standards built and perpetuated as commercial strategies. Though it took far longer than it should have to start, we’ve seen the reliance on these standards disintegrate as customers demand change. In the last year however, as one of many conversations amplified during the Black Lives Matter movement, we’ve seen a revitalized and necessary concern in not only the outward image brands are portraying, but the diversity of thought, life experience and people that make up those brands. Here is where the differences between diversity and inclusivity become especially important.
Racial or size diversity in an advertising campaign as an attempt to satiate frustrated social media users is no longer going to cut it. Today’s consumers, more informed and value-driven than any before them, want to see quantifiable and impactful change coming from top decision-makers. In some cases, this will mean the creation of executive roles devoted to diversity and inclusion, like Gucci did for Renée Tirado in 2019, but these responsibilities should not be siloed to one position.
Diversity can be achieved with an act as minimal as opening a seat at the table, but that far from guarantees inclusivity. Inclusivity requires not only the invitation of diverse perspectives and ideas, but also ensuring that they are met with the attention and validation they deserve. This comes from the culture and environment that a company works to uphold at all levels, not one where one person is tasked with managing it.
There is an inherent dichotomy in the way fashion has treated diversity. The first part is representation, dismantling the unrealistic physical standards built and perpetuated as commercial strategies. Though it took far longer than it should have to start, we’ve seen the reliance on these standards disintegrate as customers demand change. In the last year however, as one of many conversations amplified during the Black Lives Matter movement, we’ve seen a revitalized and necessary concern in not only the outward image brands are portraying, but the diversity of thought, life experience and people that make up those brands. Here is where the differences between diversity and inclusivity become especially important.
Racial or size diversity in an advertising campaign as an attempt to satiate frustrated social media users is no longer going to cut it. Today’s consumers, more informed and value-driven than any before them, want to see quantifiable and impactful change coming from top decision-makers. In some cases, this will mean the creation of executive roles devoted to diversity and inclusion, like Gucci did for Renée Tirado in 2019, but these responsibilities should not be siloed to one position.
Diversity can be achieved with an act as minimal as opening a seat at the table, but that far from guarantees inclusivity. Inclusivity requires not only the invitation of diverse perspectives and ideas, but also ensuring that they are met with the attention and validation they deserve. This comes from the culture and environment that a company works to uphold at all levels, not one where one person is tasked with managing it.
With no existing regulating body or defined standards of best practice for issues of diversity and inclusion, in terms of race specifically, Black in Fashion Council has a plan for change. Taking inspiration from the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, according to the Washington Post, the Black in Fashion Council is building a numerical system that will allow companies to better understand their performance in criteria including, “the makeup of a company’s board of directors, whether it advertises in Black-owned media or media aimed specifically at Black consumers, the diversity of its supply chain and whether unconscious-bias training is an ongoing effort.”
Though the roots of diversity efforts lay in human rights and respect, the ability to consistently measure progress through data is a major step toward lasting impact. These concepts are big, and especially on such a public scale, there is great fear of failure. Being given concrete direction toward improvement will not only push companies to do better, but it will also blatantly reveal those who fail to recognize why diversity and inclusion are essential. On the retail level, the push of the 15 Percent Pledge brought Black-owned businesses to the forefront and to 15 percent of the shelf space in major stores like Target and Shopbop, and the Black in Fashion Council has the chance to bring that momentum internally to brands. Next, hopefully this model can be brought to fashion media to set goals for both page space and editorial staff, creating a similar plan.
This is far from an exhaustive conversation about diversity in the fashion industry, and I am far from an expert. What I see in these stories, however, is a clear window of opportunity. The kind of change that is necessary for authentic commitment to diversity and inclusivity has to come from within, and while this is not exclusive to fashion, it is time for fashion to take and show real action.
Maybe above all others, my primary hope for the next decade is for significant structural progress toward meaningful corporate diversity, in fashion and all other industries, to be written about as a tenet rather than a trend.
Though the roots of diversity efforts lay in human rights and respect, the ability to consistently measure progress through data is a major step toward lasting impact. These concepts are big, and especially on such a public scale, there is great fear of failure. Being given concrete direction toward improvement will not only push companies to do better, but it will also blatantly reveal those who fail to recognize why diversity and inclusion are essential. On the retail level, the push of the 15 Percent Pledge brought Black-owned businesses to the forefront and to 15 percent of the shelf space in major stores like Target and Shopbop, and the Black in Fashion Council has the chance to bring that momentum internally to brands. Next, hopefully this model can be brought to fashion media to set goals for both page space and editorial staff, creating a similar plan.
This is far from an exhaustive conversation about diversity in the fashion industry, and I am far from an expert. What I see in these stories, however, is a clear window of opportunity. The kind of change that is necessary for authentic commitment to diversity and inclusivity has to come from within, and while this is not exclusive to fashion, it is time for fashion to take and show real action.
Maybe above all others, my primary hope for the next decade is for significant structural progress toward meaningful corporate diversity, in fashion and all other industries, to be written about as a tenet rather than a trend.