We don't think Daisy Lowe means curvy.
We don't think putting Jourdan Dunn on every runway means diversity.
And we don't think Italian Vogue will save the world - but we do think it's single-handedly given the fashion industry good face.
Just a few months post-"A Black Issue," comes "The Africa Issue," but this time around it's November's L'Uomo Vogue and the issue isn't just dedicated to the continent. More importantly, and more timely, half of the issue's ad revenues are promised to Africa-related charities.
Before you picture starving children sinking beneath their Burberry bibs, (which scarily, after the Indian Vogue debacle, doesn't sound impossible), Sozzani's quick to point out the magazine's use of people wearing their own clothes and discussing their own style - think Michelle Obama, Forest Whittaker, Matt Damon - while outlining their relationship with Africa.
Robin Givhan points out in The Washington Post that Sozzani "runs magazines that are notable for their political incorrectness." Basically, so few people read Italian Vogue, that Sozzani can publish pretty much whatever she wants. So no, it won't reach the world. But the people who do read ItalianVogue - the stylists, editors, models, designers - who in turn work with the more omnipresent American fashion magazines, can hopefully translate the message to the masses.
Which will hopefully translate into more diverse ads since flipping through editorials full of black models peppered with high fashion ads full of Lilys and Natashas is like seeing a J.Mendel ad on PETA's own website...
