Milan Fashion Week gives small opening to BLM with Italian-African designers

In wake of Black Lives Matter protests, Italian fashion event in Milan took a step in process and included five African-born designers on official Milan Fashion Week calendar. Stella Jean, who is only Black designer belonging to Italy’s prestigious fashion council, said that she hopes that decision will bring real diversity to creative and decision-making centres of Italian fashion to combat racism in industry. 

According to AP reports, Italy has a relatively small African-origin population. With well-kwn faces in political class or on television, Black population is believed to be mostly invisible in country of nearly 60 million. It was just last week that a think thank bringing toger top fashion houses on council with Black creatives was launched. However, Jean h said that re still remains resistance to campaign she has launched with US designer Edward Buchanan and Michelle Ngomo, founder of Afro Fashion Week Mila, with pressure on to abandon it. 

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‘Racism in Italy is a unique case study’ 

Jean has been pushing industry to make concrete moves towards diversifying Italian fashion. After several major houses showed social media support for BLM protests over racial equality and police brutality during summer, officials have also been asking for an accounting of numbers of people of colour working inside system. 

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Jean said, “ one is looking to stand back and blame you for current situation. Inste, we are asking you to be part of solution starting today. Racism in Italy ... is a very unique case study. It doesn’t resemble that exists with our European neighbours and it also differs greatly from American kind. This however doesn’t render it less harmful or discriminative, only different”. 

Moreover, fashion council has also agreed to implement six reform points by February. council will be proving scholarship and mentorship to fashion students of colour. While calling recent step ‘a beginning’, he of Italy’s fashion council, Carlo Capasa, said that officials will continue to work on diversity points of its diversity manifesto, including commitment that diversity is an asset. Furr, he confirmed that new think thank launched would continue to meet periodically. 

(Ims & Inputs: AP) 

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