Racial diversity is a topic of conversation that’s been neglected in the fashion industry, especially in regards to models. Jezebel.com is a website that tallies up the number of white, black, Asian, Latino, and all other races of models on the runway. These tallies show that as of February 2015, 78.69% of models on the runway were white, 9.75% black models, 7.61% Asian models, 2.12% Latino models and .45% other. Since 2008, the number of non-white models has stayed at a steady twenty percent.

“I find it weird when agents say, ‘You’re the only black girl booked for the show. Isn’t that great?’ Why is it great? I don’t know why people applaud designers for having one ethnic model. Its not like only one type of women loves fashion, ” said Jourdan Dunn, a British fashion model, who has criticized the modeling agency for including about one or two black models in an attempt to pass that for diversity. Many designers will claim that their choices in models is based on aesthetics, which ties in to their brand’s overall image.

There have also been complaints about using certain names for prints. Using words such as “ethnic” and “tribal” to describe prints are not the correct terms to describe the fabric. There’s also been a term “black face” where designers and makeup artists would paint white models with bronzer and put them in a segment called Jungle Fever.

While fashion is a form of expression and designers can chose whomever they please for the runway, models should not be discriminated against because of their race. Adding two or three black models to a show does not show diversity, but rather shows a lack of sensitivity toward racial minorities.  If the fashion industry is serious about not being seen as racist, consistency is key to successful and fair runway shows.