Jourdan Dunn is British Vogue’s First Black Model in 12 Years

Photo: @officialjdunn/Instagram

When Burberry released their latest campaign last month, the brand made international headlines for featuring Naomi Campbell and Jourdan Dunn, without a single white face in sight. Now, the latter’s landed the February cover of British Vogue. It is the first time in 12 years that a black model has been featured solo on the cover. (Fittingly, Naomi Campbell was last, in August of 2002.) And while it’s not Dunn’s first cover with the venerable British magazine—she starred with Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Eden Clark in 2008—it’s the first time she gets solo honors, which is a big deal.

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The fashion industry might like to think of itself as progressive, but despite a few highlights over the past few years—that all-black Vogue Italia issue, the rise of Crystal Renn—not enough action’s been taken to combat the industry’s skinny white-washing. British Vogue’s 12 year run of only white solo covers is just one example of the lack of balance. Just how overdue is Dunn’s cover? In 2008, Dunn was the first black model to appear on the Prada runway in over a decade, a coup that catapulted her into the spotlight. That was 7 years ago. In contrast, model of the moment Cara Delevingne started her modeling career two years after Dunn and she’s racked up at least three British Vogue covers since then.

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Dunn’s February cover is an auspicious start for the new year: 2014 was American Vogue’s most diverse year yet, models like Candice Huffine and Myla Dalbesio are paving the way for all sizes, and it looks like the industry is finally taking action in the face of an increasingly vocal public. It’s only day two, but perhaps this is the year that sparks the fire for a change in the way women are portrayed in the media. Congratulations Jourdan!