Elle Germany publicly apologizes after insinuating that black models are “a trend”
Nov 7, 2019
Dunja Đuđić
Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, concerts, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.
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Elle Germany has recently come under fire after publishing a “racially insensitive” issue. The November 2019 issue contains a tagline reading “black is back” along with a feature of models of color. Furthermore, there’s a photo of a black woman against the wrong person’s name, so the publication was accused that they “can’t actually tell models apart.”
Instagram account @diet_prada posted a few photos of Elle Germany’s November 2019 issue, dedicated to models of color, but full of mistakes. First of all, the publication declares that “black is back,” which makes “black” sound like a trend. I don’t think skin color can and should be a trend, but this could be a misinterpretation of the tagline.
Then, one of the featured models is Janaye Furman, with the photo that doesn’t depict her. Along with Furman’s details, there’s a photo of another model, Naomi Chin Wing. Because of this mistake, Diet Prada accuses Elle Germany that they can’t tell the models apart.
To make things even worse, the front has a huge title reading “Back to Black,” and there’s a photo of a white model. It leaves an impression that Elle Germany is willing to feature some models of color, but not hire them for the cover.
Elle Germany received harsh criticism over this month’s issue and all the reckless mistakes they made. It even made the publication issue a public apology. “As one of the topics, it was our aim to feature strong black women who work as models for the fashion industry,” the apology reads. “In doing so, we have made several mistakes for which we apologize to anyone we might have hurt.” The team behind Elle Germany apologizes for the cover line and misidentifying the model, concluding that “this has definitely been a learning experience” for them.
I believe that it was no one’s intention to offend anyone. In fact, I believe that the intention of Elle Germany editors was quite the opposite. Still, I definitely think that they should have thought this through before publishing. And perhaps it wouldn’t be a bad idea to actually hire models of color for the cover and start practicing what they preach.
[via FStoppers; image credits: TréVoy Kelly from Pixabay]
Dunja Đuđić
Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, concerts, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.
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15 responses to “Elle Germany publicly apologizes after insinuating that black models are “a trend””
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Now they reached the Germans.
I love it when companies apologize with “it was not our intention to offend anyone” as if it ever is a commercial entity’s intent to offend their audience.
“It was not our intention to offend anyone” is the equivalent of “but I didn’t Mean to!” It’s an excuse.
Brands need to realize consumers are no longer just buying a product; they’re paying for morality, trust, and values as well. That’s where the digital age has brought us.
Design inclusively, or hire someone who will.
This is why you need diversity behind the scenes because they keep you from making dumb mistakes like this.
I don’t see what all the bru-ha-ha is about. The magazine simply made the observation that more advertisements and fashion shoots use black models now than a decade ago. Somehow stating simple facts gets people riled up, as people search for some reason to say they have been insulted.
This was no insult. This was a simple recital of facts. Grow up.
elle exploits women then trashes them – why any woman supports this rag is beyond comprehension
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Shocking that Elle Germany would imply black models are “a trend.” Representation matters! Click Here to read the full story and support diversity in fashion today.
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