Kanye West's models: A fuller spectrum of 'black beauty'
NEW YORK — Kanye West's Yeezy Season 3 show on Thursday had all the twists and turns of a perfect stage show. There was the superb music blasting from his upcoming seventh album, The Life of Pablo, the production was outer worldly, and the clothes, including West's infamous Yeezy Boosts, are sure to become bestsellers.
But what was the most intriguing aspect from the New York City show was West's cast of models. Most on two of the stages were of color, and the entire bottom floor (made up of street-casted, non-professional models) were black.
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The beauty of it all was how diverse the show truly was. Purposefully or not, West was powerfully emitting an important message: Black people's beauty is far from homogenous.
In the center of a ring were men and women of different shapes and colors. Some were short, others tall, some full-figured, others thin.
"It was apparent that one objective of the show was to celebrate the diversity within the black community," Calvin Warren, an assistant professor of American Studies at George Washington University, told Mashable.
"Using hundreds of different black models, [West] was giving a more pervasive view of black beauty."
"We have a certain template of what a black beautiful person entails," he said. "It seems that using hundreds of different black models, [West] was giving a more pervasive view of black beauty. We don't all look alike, we are not interchangeable. It's a reaction of blackness and expansiveness."
Warren, who specializes in black history, explained the standards of beauty within the black American community.
"Historically, what was deemed beautiful was a lighter-skinned person," he explained.
As Warren described it, the notion has deep roots in the history of slave trade.
"The darker you were, the more manual labor you did," he said. "The lighter the skin, the more relegated to the house. It was also the sexual interactions between the master class and captives. This created the assumption that lighter-skinned people were more aesthetically pleasing."
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Other than the social implications, Warren said West's use of an all-black cast also could signify the political economy.
"Black purchasing power is very significant, but fashion doesn't reflect those who are purchasing a majority of it," he said.
According to a study by the Nielsen Company, African-American spending is forecasted to reach $1.3 trillion by the end of 2017. This is compared to Asian-Americans hitting a projected $1 trillion by 2018, and Hispanic-Americans at $1.4 trillion.
"To have blacks onstage is a reflection of who is spending in fashion," Warren said. "Once we have a greater understanding of the importance of utilizing more black models is when we can finally open the doors to untapped opportunity."
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David joined the Mashable team as its first fashion hire. He's written for the Wall Street Journal, Elle, GQ, Harper's Bazaar, Esquire, Details, Nylon, Refinery29, Fashionista, and covered the men's market at Women's Wear Daily. David has appeared on E!, Vh1, the Style network, and was a stylist at Capitol records.
