When I started to write this post it was simply about how a bride to be would feel seeing a non asian on the cover of a asian bridal magazine, would she be able to connect with her? if she was wearing a non traditional outfit, could she see herself dressed in that way?
I'm working on a inspiration board for a UK born bride right now, who asked for English country look, and its easy to see why, living in a western society its only natural that we are majorly influenced by the wedding culture. Many brides wear white gown, at their reception. So as long as its in trend, it will be on the cover.
Brides rocking non traditional looks ~
But what if the model on the cover isn't asian and is sporting a white gown with a tiara, take away the name, you may be hard pushed to tell who the mag is aimed at? but should that even bother us, after all content is king, who cares whats on the cover?
Earlier in the year fashion blogger nazma had wrote about the
asiana bridal show in this particular show there was a clear shortage of asian models on the runway, which led to criticism for the shows producer, but also a lack of talented trained models, along with unprofessional manner within the industry was blamed for the over use of non asian models. I began to wonder did this really matter, the ethnicity of who was used, or who was on the cover? Getting the job done matter's more right?
I took to twitter and facebook to get idea what others thought about this issue, of non asian models on asian bridal magazines
here are some comments ~
"there's already a stigma attached to young asian females in the uk especially" There's an ideal where young asian girls feel fair skin is beautiful, and anything darker than beige is a sign of ugliness. We should have darker models on high end magazine covers to promote the message that yes we are asian, and yes many of us will have darker skin and that's fine, because skin colour does not matter. Many girls are using dangerous products to lighten their skin colour and I truly believe that this matter needs to be addressed"
" its partly because of the lack of potential models within Asian communities they have a few Asian models however they are overly used every where its not the sort of profession that most Asian families allow their daughters to do... I myself am yet to work with Asian models I have worked with mainly European models with olive skin tones on Asian bridal shoots" {MUA}
" I think it's really difficult to get into the industry people don't want to train new girls even if it is a tfp shoot, hence it's easier getting someone who knows what their doing.. Which is why few Asian models are used, then the non asian models are brought in.. But I have to say there are not many dark skinned Asian models on the mag'z it's either fair Asian girl or European girls there's no middle ranking... But I guess for make up artists it can also be stressful as their always looking for that one perfect face...
"It can be really stressful looking for an Asian model, especially outside of London. But I have an ad out at the moment in an Asian magazine and have used a model that is not classed as a fair skinned Asian. I think it's probably more important to use Asian models of all shades of skin colour to connect with your audience. However if you want to connect with the older generation unfortunately they still have a preference for the fair skin look. I think MUAs and photographers and especially magazines can play a big role in changing the way we all perceive beauty." {MUA}
"we as a generation can help educate people. The way many people perceive beauty is extremely warped, but it's a tricky topic as even Afro-Caribbean super stars like beyonce are also in the press for lightening their skin, lightening their hair, we should accept that beauty comes in all shapes sizes and colours, and we should embrace it. It would probably be better for magazines to use darker models, the readers would definitely appreciate the variety in models"
Twitter also spoke out, branding it awful, dreadful, even claims that models are often lighten more using photo shop to make them look more fair {could be possible after all models are often so airbrushed you cant even see any pores}
I was surprised by the response, no one cared what the model was wearing, the question posed had made the majority of people seeing it nothing to do with race, but about skin colour. It maybe the 21st century but the backwards thoughts that gora {white) skin was better was still with us? So is this about skin discrimination perhaps? I started looking at covers of magazines I found every cover girl, had almost exactly the same tone of skin ~ dare I say fair & lovely!
But what about the lack of models, it's a hard industry to get into, and most Asian parents don't exactly dream their daughter will gown up to be a model. In that case maybe the industry/magazines have no choice in the matter after all even I know not every pretty face can be a "model" and all trained models just happen to be the same colour.
Would love your comments on this? What do you think?
ps thank you to everyone who give their honest opinion.
