The editor of French Vogue, Carine Roitfeld, has been accused of racism after the so-called ´blacking up of 25-year-old Dutch model Lara Stone for a fashion feature in the October issue. Styled by Roitfeld herself and shot by Steven Klein, the 13-page shoot – which features Stone painted black in four of the pictures – has outraged many in the fashion industry and press.

Lara Stone -Vogue - Paris october 2009, staffmodels.blogs.mu

In an industry where black women are under represented, why would Roitfeld choose to paint a model black rather than actually use a black model? As Hannah Pool writing in The Guardian points out, “in an issue billed on the cover as Top Models Special, no black women feature in any of the shoots. In a special “rendezvous avec la legende” they’ve got Kate Moss, Claudia Schiffer, Eva Herzigova but no Naomi Campbell and no Iman. There’s no Alek Wek, and no Liya Kebede. Naomi Campbell makes the news pages, but that’s about it.”

Lara Stone -Vogue - Paris october 2009, staffmodels.blogs.mu

Black models have always struggled to be featured, especially within the European fashion press. So what do you think? Is this photo story racist? Offensive? Could it be an ill-conceived publicity stunt? After all, open up a fashion magazine these days and it will certainly contain something controversial. Or is this shoot just an artistic form of social commentary? Let us know your thoughts…

Lara Stone -Vogue - Paris october 2009, staffmodels.blogs.mu