People are talking about
“In terms of diversity having witnessed, against all odds, a man of colour take residency in the aptly called White House, my hope is – Yes, We CAN.”
Debra Bourne, Co. Founder, All Walks Beyond The Catwalk
Teen Vogue loves powerful women and this statement fills us with hope. So what is All Walks Beyond The Catwalk?
Originally Beat (The national charity for eating disorders), asked the British Fashion Council to create a fashion event about inspiring bodies. The idea was not accepted but Caryn Franklin (fashion expert and TV presenter), Debra Bourne and Erin O’Connor decided they could start up something similar: “a high level industry standard concept.”
The message behind All Walks Beyond The Catwalk is that all shapes, sizes and colour are beautiful. They would like more diversity on the catwalk and are creating imagery that reflects these values.
Firstly, there was the i-D shoot and then a launch party at the September ’09 London Fashion Week at Somerset House.
All Walks Beyond The Catwalk knows that the “perfect body” promoted by the fashion industry is not realistic: only two percent of the population can be a supermodel: we are all not 5”10 and a size six.
“Beauty is not a reflection of a perfect set of statistics”
Debra says: “Within the industry we are noticing people’s attitudes are changing. More curvy models are walking the runways and in magazine spreads. However the fashion industry does like a trend. At All Walks Beyond The Catwalk our work is committed to longevity beyond Trend Curve.”
All Walks Beyond The Catwalk gave their eight designers the opportunity to make a difference with their work. They were asked to consider the model’s own body before creating a piece.
They produced brochures, which were sent to every editor visiting London Fashion Week.
The web site has testimonials from designers and models, expressing the need for change.
Debra says: “We have witnessed designers like William Tempest, integrating the idea of diversity through model castings for the February 2010 catwalk shows. As well as Mark Fast, the designer we introduced to Hayley Morley, who is also continuing to work with models like Crystal Renn.
“We want to simply expand on what is on offer. Something as simple as showing models that represent a more realistic mirror to the women on the street in top end designer clothing. Not such a big deal.”
All Walks Beyond The Catwalk simply asks those of us in positions of power, can we change anything? Should we be listening to these statistics? (The increase in numbers of people suffering from eating disorders and other mental health issues.) Could we contribute positively to this matter? And creatively how might a return to acknowledging a more individual approach benefit?
No comments:
Post a Comment