Did H&M Just Have the Most Diverse Runway Ever?
Model Jourdan Dunn backstage at H&M show. (Photo: Getty Images)
High five, H&M!
Wednesday night’s hotly anticipated catwalk wasn’t just crammed with cool clothes — it was cast with one of the most inclusive show lineups we’ve ever seen. Each model had an individual vibe, and they were all seriously gorgeous.
The breakdown by the numbers: 15 looks were worn by women of color. There were six mothers, six women with naturally textured hair, five models over the age of 30, and two trans women in the show. Fashion legend Pat Cleveland (age 65) walked before her daughter, Anna. Supermodels Amber Valletta, Anja Rubik, and Freja Beha joined current runway queens Jourdan Dunn, Taylor Hill, and Andreja Pejic. The actress Hari Nef was there; so was plus-size bombshell Ashley Graham.
Supermodel Amber Valletta walks the runway. (Photo: Getty Images)
Their variety proved something important: H&M makes clothes that every kind of girl can make chic. That’s what’s so funny — not funny ha-ha, funny dumb — about this whole “diversity” issue in fashion. It shouldn’t be bold or edgy to cast different kinds of beautiful women in a fashion show! If anything, the safest thing a label can do is prove, with one look after another, that all types of girls can buy, wear, and love your brand.
“Pretty” doesn’t have an ethnicity. “Cool” comes in lots of shapes. The only thing that always looks the same is money — and H&M will probably make millions from these clothes because shoppers worldwide just saw how good they can look on someone just like them. (Maybe a little taller, but yeah.)
Everyone else: if you want to cash in, catch up.
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