This Social Media Campaign Is Making Headlines For Supporting Inclusivity In The Industry
When you think of the fashion and beauty industries, diverse or inclusive aren't really words that you would think of. In more recent years, brands, agencies and campaigns have tried to up their game by including the odd woman of colour, or the occasional fat girl. Whilst it's a step in the right direction, there's still a long way to go, and token castings aren't fooling anyone anymore.
The Model Diversity Project is the latest campaign that's capturing social media's attention, and is demanding that the fashion and beauty industries begin normalising diversity in editorial and beyond. Founded by veteran model Liris Crosse and celebrity make up artist Christopher Michael, the campaign is working to highlight the importance of inclusivity in editorial constantly, rather than saving them for special editions and marketing opportunities. The Model Diversity Project came after the co-founders were fed up of waiting for a truly diverse campaign to emerge, leading them to make the decision to take the reins themselves.
“We wanted to show the beauty where it’s not just one model by themselves but all of us together,” Liris said in an interview with Mic. “This is personal. This is the world that I see. I see light, black, Asian, Latina. I see older models, younger models.”
It's no secret that models of a larger size, older age, or darker skin tone miss out on plenty of modelling opportunities that thinner, younger, whiter castings get easy access to due to their privilege. The project's campaign features Crosse, as well as four other curve models — Naimah Terry, Monique Robinson, Denka Obradovic, and Elly Mayday — in a gorgeous editorial shoot, celebrating diversity and sticking a middle finger up to those who don't think that the concept of an inclusive model casting is beautiful.
“Beauty isn't just one look,” Michael summed up perfectly. Here at The Unedit, that's something we certainly stand by, so cheers to that!
You can see more images from the campaign on Liris and Christopher's Instagram accounts.
