'Black face'? Why Gigi Hadid has apologised for her latest Vogue cover
The debate about diversity and representation in the fashion industry has been ignited again after Vogue Italia released its May issue cover this week.
The cover, photographed by Steven Klein, shows Gigi Hadid reclining on the lap of a male model model while wearing a sequinned catsuit and jewelled crown by Dolce and Gabbana.
But it was the colour of Hadid’s skin which provoked an angry reaction from many Instagram users when the image was published yesterday. With her deep bronze tan and dark hair, many accused the image of portraying ‘black face’.
“This is really disgusting. If you want a black woman, take black woman (sic),” wrote commenter. “But just don’t photoshopped (sic) Gigi’s face… We are back with ‘black face’. You can’t be serious with this.”
Another wrote that the image was “so terrible. Cultural appropriation at its finest.”
There were some who didn’t see a problem with the cover, however. “What's wrong with you people, is this the first cover with a white girl that is over bronzed? Suddenly you all have fake morals. So magazines should not take pictures of bronzed girls because they should hire natural dark skin models? Let's ban all the solariums and creams for tan, let's make it illegal for white people to be bronzed.”
Hadid, whose father is from Palestine, has responded to the controversy with an apology which explains her lack of creative control over the images. ‘Please understand that my control of a shoot 1. Is non-existent in terms of creative direction 2. Ends completely when I leave set.”
She went on to acknowledge that “although I understand what Vogue Italia’s intentions were, it was not executed correctly and the concerns that have been brought up are valid.”
Responding to the specific allegation that Vogue Italia should have employed a black model instead of her, Hadid wrote, “Regardless, I want to apologise because my intention was never to diminish those concerns or take opportunities away from anyone else.”
In the past, Hadid has spoken out about diversity in terms of body size after she was criticised for losing weight. “For those of you so determined to come up w why my body has changed over the years,” she wrote on Twitter. “You may not know that when I started @ 17 I was not yet diagnosed w/Hashimoto’s disease; those of u who called me “too big for the industry” were seeing inflammation & water retention due to that.”
Vogue Italia said Klein's "vision was to create a beachwear-themed story with a stylized bronzing effect," adding that "we understand that the result has caused some debate with our readers, and we sincerely apologize if we have caused any offense."