Fashion Industry Trending Toward Inclusivity Despite Previously Lagging

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Fashion and beauty industries start to make more progress towards a wider variety of nude color tones.

Medardo Perez, Staff Writer
April 19, 2016

Historically rooted in white standards of beauty and femininity, the fashion and beauty industries are making a conscious effort working towards inclusivity and diversity. Existing brands continue to expand to cater to the needs of consumers of color, and some consumers, too eager to wait for a change, are taking the initiative to mend the color-gap, creating their own products and brands for all skin-tones.

For people of color, purchasing foundation has never been as easy as walking into a department store, choosing one bottle out of the endless array of bottles labeled “medium-sand” and walking out. Fortunately, makeup brands catering specifically to people of color are sprouting in every direction. Supermodel Iman launched her own brand — Iman Cosmetics — back in 1994 and since then, brands like Black Opal, Fashion Fair and Black Up have emerged in support of makeup for people of color. Other established cosmetic brands like MAC, NARS, Bobbi Brown and Makeup Forever are some of the few brands of their kind who have carried shades to match everyone.  

Recently, companies have started providing guilt-free opportunities to test out makeup, skincare and hair products made especially for people of color through beauty subscription boxes like Essence Beauty Box, Cocotique, CurlBox, Curlkit and Onyx — monthly subscription services targeted at people with textured hair and deeper-skin tones, with samples addressing their every need.

The fashion industry is making slower progress than its cosmetics counterpart, but it shows promise. Ask yourself, why is nude commonly portrayed as beige? Whereas this disregard for diversity in skin-tone plagued fashionistas and beauty lovers in the past, now brands are making it possible for anyone to find their unique shade. Christian Louboutin launched the Nudes Collection in 2013 — introducing a selection of shoes available in five shades for the light, the deep and the in-between. Similarly, London-based entrepreneur Ade Hassan created her own line of lingerie and hosiery in 2014 called Nubian Skin. With four shades of brown ranging from Café au Lait to “Berry,” Hassan redefined lingerie for women, allowing them an intimate embrace of their color.    

In launching his collection, Louboutin expressed an understanding of the need to tailor his brand to his consumer-base and the importance of inclusivity in his designs.

“I have clients from every continent and want to make them happy,” Louboutin wrote on his website.

The increasing shift towards fostering stronger relationships with consumers of color by promoting different shades of beauty proves the fashion and cosmetic industries have developed an awareness of the blatant disregard for the needs of people with deep complexions. However, just as increasing racial diversity on the runway is a gradual process, the same can be expected for increasing a greater range in the products distributed off the runway that cater to a racially diverse public. Fortunately, progress is being made.

Email Medardo Perez at [email protected]

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If You Love ’90s Slip Dresses, Then You’ll Really Love Monique Lhuillier’s Latest Bridal Collection

For bridal fashion, designer Monique Lhuillier has had a very specific vision for a couple of seasons now—an image of “an effortless woman running through a garden,” with the intent to capture that carefree attitude and the feeling of being madly in love. The source of inspiration may be the same, but everything else sets her spring 2017 bridal collection apart from her previous ones. For one, she zeroed in on the garden theme, choosing to stage her runway show in the courtyard of Ladurée’s Soho location in New York City, where flowers bloomed at every turn (“they bloomed on cue!” the designer joked) and trees twinkled with fairy lights.

As for the dresses, they were ethereal, light, and airy. Or, in Lhuillier’s words: “not fussy.”

“I drew inspiration from lingerie, specifically slip dresses,” she says about tapping into this season’s biggest dress silhouette. “I wanted that ease and modernity back in bridal; I didn’t want it so structured with so many layers. It was about the delicacy and making everything light.”

RELATED: Elie Saab Launches Bridal, and It’s Everything

She worked with her usual materials—lace, silk chiffons, and tulle—but she cut them in a way that retained its volume, but without drawing attention to it: “Everything was tattooed on her, but with such a light hand, and it felt right.”

Aside from the slip dress and the lightweight layers, other new bridal elements include hand-painted roses, ombre cummerbunds, and a pop of fuchsia in the center of flowers to create a three-dimensional effect (a surprising accent that felt different from the traditional palette of bridal pastels, like pistachio, primrose, and sorbet).

See Monique Lhuillier’s entire spring 2017 bridal collection in our Bridal Fashion Week gallery, along with other designers, like Marchesa, Elie Saab, and more.

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