Jourdan Dunn Thinks the Fashion Industry Can Still be Racist

Jourdan Dunn Thinks the Fashion Industry Can Still be Racist

British model Jourdan Dunn only recently landed her first British Vogue cover, and as the only black model to cover the magazine in 13 years, she has spoken on how there can still be a racist attitude within the fashion industry. Although there has been a conscious effort in recent years to make runways more diverse, Jourdan laments that there still isn’t a good attitude when it comes to casting:

“It’s hard being a model regardless, and then being a black model. I have heard, ‘Oh, we haven’t shown any black models this season.’ So blasé… It’s messed up.”

Jourdan Dunn Thinks the Fashion Industry Can Still be Racist

The model adds that she also doesn’t like women looking up to her for her figure, because she thinks people need to accept what they have naturally and love their own bodies. She explained:

“I get uncomfortable when I read comments saying, ‘I wanna look like you, I wish I had your body.’ When I was growing up I didn’t love myself, or like what I saw in the mirror. Curves are celebrated in Caribbean culture, so I felt the odd one out. So my message is: be happy and love yourself.”

Jourdan, who is now based in New York City and has a son named Riley, says she loves how she can have the best of both worlds:

“I love that one day I am doing this and then I go home to my reality: getting Riley ready for school, doing his reading with him, taking him to the park. For some in this industry their life is their work. The other girls didn’t understand in the beginning why I didn’t want to go out all the time.”