Diversity in the Fashion Industry

Diversity is one of our top priorities at The Collective. As a team, we are always seeking to better our publication and ourselves through the acknowledgement and implementation of diverse and inclusive efforts. We believe our current and future readers will only benefit from the efforts of inclusivity and diversity expressed in our pages.

Diversity in fashion is important because of representation. Everyone deserves to be appreciated for who they are no matter their race. The world is beautifully diverse, and models as well as the industry should reflect that.

Models Who Are Changing the Face of the Fashion Industry:

Adut Akech is a South Sudanese-Australian model. She won "Model of the Year" at the 2019 Fashion Awards and has graced the cover of Vogue 4 times.

Adut Akech. (Bibi Borthwick)

Sora Choi, a beautiful South Korean model, is taking the fashion industry by storm. Walking a total of 89 shows in 2019, Choi won the 2020 "Reader's Choice Model of the Year" Award.

Sora Choi. (Heya W. Kang)

Alton Mason, a Jamaican-Ghanaian male model from Nebraska, is making history. At age 21 Mason was the first black male model to walk for Channel.

Alton Mason. (Daria Kobayashi Ritch)

Anok Yai, an American-South Sudanese model, is one of the most sought after models today, currently ranking as one of the "top 50" models by Models.com.

Brianna Capozzi

Paloma Elsesser, an American-British model, is making waves in the industry as 2020 "Model of the Year Industry's Choice."

Paloma Elsesser. (Quil Lemons)

Telfar Clemens, a Liberian-American fashion designer, founded TELFAR, a unisex fashion label based in Brooklyn, NY. Telfar has won numerous awards one being the 2020 CDFA Award "American Accessories Designer of the Year."

Telfar Clemens. (Maciek Kobielski)

The creative directors of Oscar De La Renta: Laura Kim, a South Korean fashion designer, and Fernando Garcia, a Dominican designer, won the CFDA Award for "American Emerging Designer of the Year" in 2017.

Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia. (Max Papendieck)

In 2011, JS, a Puerto Rican model and actress, Joan Smalls, became the first Latina to represent Estee Lauder cosmetics. In June 2020, the supermodel pledged half of yearly wages to Black Lives Matter grass roots organizations. She created DonateMyWage.org, an organization to help people donate their wages to charities in solidarity with the movement.

Joan Smalls. (Xavi-Gordo)