Published:
Has Black Become Unfashionable?: BET News Explores the Decline of African American Models in the Fashion Industry in 'FASHION BLACKOUT' Premiering Thursday May 29 at 8:30 PM
NEW YORK, May 28 /PRNewswire/ -- According to targetmarketnews.com, Black
women inthe United States spend more than $20 billion on apparel each year.
Unfortunately the runways, magazine spreads and the image/beauty industry at
large are increasingly ignoring their buying power and their existence by
choosing instead to market an Eastern-European form of beauty as the standard.
This global decrease in the use of African Americans models in top campaigns
and in major fashion shows has sparked the question: has Black become
unfashionable? On Thursday May 29 at 8:30 PM, BET News goes behind the scenes
ofNew York's Fashion Week to find the answer in a half hour special, FASHION
BLACKOUT. Top Black industry insiders, Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, Naomi Campbell,
Bethann Hardison, Tyson Beckford, Tracy Reese, Andre Leon Talley and many
others sound off about the sharp decline in African American images in the
fashion industry, the blatant racism and their plans on how to keep the Black
model from becoming extinct.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070716/BETNETWORKSLOGO )
AtNew York's September 2007 Fashion Week the runways were dominated by
white faces. In fact, Black faces were more absent from the runways than some
fashion insiders have seen since the '60s. Of the 101 runway shows, more than
1/3 employed no Black models; most of the others used just one or two. Blacks
fared no better overseas: When the fashion caravan moved toLondon,Paris and
Milan, the most influential shows -- from Prada to Jil Sander to Balenciaga to
Chloe and Chanel -- made it appear as if someone had hung a sign reading: No
Blacks Need Apply. So is the fashion industry racist or are Blacks simply not
in season? FASHION BLACKOUT will explore the issues and how the exclusion of
an entire race has a negative effect on Black women and their sense of
self-worth.
For more on FASHION BLACKOUT viewers can go online to
http://www.bet.com/OnTV/BETShows/fnbo.htm
About BET Networks
BET Networks, a division of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is the
nation's leading provider of quality entertainment, music, news and public
affairs television programming for the African-American audience. The primary
BET channel reaches more than 87 million households according to Nielsen Media
Research, and can be seen in the U.S.,Canada and theCaribbean. BET is the
dominant African-American consumer brand with a diverse group of businesses
extensions: BET.com, a leading internet destination for Black entertainment,
music, culture, and news; BET Digital Networks -- BET J, BET Gospel and BET
Hip Hop, attractive alternatives for cutting-edge entertainment tastes; BET
Event Productions, a full-scale event management and production company; BET
Home Entertainment, a collection of BET-branded offerings for the home
environment including DVDs and video-on-demand; BET Mobile, which offers
ringtones, games and video content for wireless devices; and BET
International, an extension of BET network programming for global
distribution.
SOURCE BET Networks
Copyright © 2008, PRNewswire
Copyright © 2008, NewsBlaze,
Daily NewsTags: ,TVN,ENT,FAS,MUS,BLK,WOM,NY-BET-fashion-models
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