Link Round-Up: The Changing Face of the Modeling Industry

Although the 2008 New York Fashion Week has come to an end, the event brought up many questions about the state of the today's modeling industry. While the top models of the 1990s were primarily Eastern European or South American women, the fashion industry is beginning to embrace more diverse models. A July 2008 U.S. Vogue article titled, "Is Fashion Racist?" examined the rising popularity of three new black models (Chanel Iman, Jourdan Dunn and Arlenis Sosa) while Italian Vogue's July 2008 all-black issue was its best-selling issue ever. An albino African-American walked in the men's shows this season. As for size, several media outlets noticed that the models this year looked a little bigger than in previous years.

Not only are changes occurring on the runways and in magazine spreads, but mainstream marketing is also in the process of redefining the modeling industry. The Dove "Campaign for Real Beauty," ads, in which average-sized, un-photoshopped women are shown using the company's products, has been very successful - the company's commercial, "Evolution" has had over 7.5 million views on youtube alone in the two years its been online. The changing face of modeling is creating an exciting new atmosphere in the fashion industry, and it will be interesting to see what the men and women walking next year's Fashion Week runway look like.