Vogue Facing Racial Problems?

Famous magazine, Vogue, has been facing serious and quite obvious racial problems over the years.

In 2017, Vogue was under fire for their "WOMEN RULE : Fashion's Fearless Females" March issue, when they featured model, Karlie Kloss, in Japanese traditional attire as a geisha. According to The Cut, the theme of the issue that was said to be about "diversity", however the meaning it was not clear and the magazine failed to portray as such. 

The editorial which was titled “Spirited Away”,  was shot by photographer Mikael Jansson in Japan and styled by Phyllis Posnick. The shots also features Kloss, among other things, posing in designer clothing with a sumo wrestler, visiting a tea house and carrying a basket of cherry blossoms.

Many were annoyed as to why Vogue had chose a white model to appear as a geisha instead of an actual Japanese model. These backlashes had drove Kloss to publicly apologise on Twitter stating she was “truly sorry for participating in a shoot that was not culturally sensitive,” and ensured that she would be more inspiring in the future.
According to Time magazine, this isn't the first time Vogue has come up with controversial issues. Pakistani newspaper, The Express Tribune, had recently published an article on Vogue's problematic moments. A major one issued, was Vogue's April 2008 issue which featured basketball player, Lebron James and model, Gisele Bundchen. It was ripped apart even back then as comparisons were drawn between it and the 1917 American war propaganda poster 'Destroy This Mad Brute.'

A fashion watchdog of sorts on Instagram, known as Diet Prada had also called out the magazine stating, "In a modern context, it embodies hugely problematic tropes comparing Black people to primes, something racists have done for centuries to dehumanise them."

By Erica Pamela