With fashion weeks taking place in all major capitals at the moment, it’s easy to get caught up in the beauty of the clothes and accessories being shown whilst failing to notice the girls modelling them. Iman and Naomi Campbell have teamed up with former model agent Bethann Hardison to campaign against the current ‘white out’ we are witnessing on our catwalks, and tackle the lack of racial diversity in the fashion industry.

The trio, who have named themselves The Diversity Coalition, have written to the fashion councils of New York, Paris, London and Milan, highlighting the fashion houses who consistently fail to use models of colour in their shows. “People have said we are shaming the designers,” Iman says in an interview with The Evening Standard, “But that’s not what we’re doing. Nobody is calling anybody racist; the action is racist,” she explains. “The absence of models of colour sends a message to our young girls that they are not good enough, they are not beautiful enough,” she says. “Photography and the runways are such powerful tools, and say such a lot about our society. It is so much bigger than the catwalk.” To read their letter and the compiled list of designers, visit BalanceDiversity.com

Text by Beccy Hill

Tags: Bethann Hardison, Iman, Naomi Campbell, The Diversity Coalition