What hurts Tyra Banks the most about the fashion industry: 'Race is not a trend'
If you take a stroll down the magazine aisle in any drugstore or at your neighborhood newsstand, you’ll probably notice the same black celebrities on the cover of top fashion glossies. Lupita Nyong’o, Beyoncé, and Rihanna have scored multiple Vogue covers, but the instances are still very far and few between the number of white actresses and entertainers.
Tyra Banks knows exactly where the problem lies.
Banks brought her “next-level fierceness” to the Build Series in New York City to promote her America’s Next Top Model return. Cycle 24 debuts Jan. 9 at 8 p.m. EST on VH1 and it has the most diverse cast of models in the show’s history. However, highlighting diverse beauty has always been a priority for the 44-year-old mogul.
According to Banks, the fashion industry is very cyclical and very focused on trends — and we see this occurring with women of certain races and skin tones being propelled in the spotlight.
She explained, “Ohh, it’s black girl season! Ok and now where are they? Ohh, it’s a Brazilian season! Ok and now where are they? Ohh, it’s the Russians! Ohh, now it’s the Asian girls!”
“To me, race is not a trend. Your skin is not a trend,” Banks told viewers. “We are who we are so we should not go in and out of fashion.”
Banks has advice for the powers that be in the fashion industry on how to solve this issue: “The trend should be what we put on our bodies — not our bodies.”
We hope they get the message.
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