Black Women in Fashion

During this weeks reading I was extremely interested in the “Hair Nah” game and also the “Of Another Fashion” blog which talks about the ignored fashion histories of U.S. women of color. For me, these two pieces of media intrigued me because both use different examples to talk about the lack of representation and respect for black women in the fashion industry. The interview of the creator of the Hair Nah game gave insight to an issue that black women face daily which is people touching or making remarks about their hair simply because it is different. The fact that people have these types of reactions show that there is a clear lack of black women and their hair in the fashion industry. The same conclusion can be drawn from the blog; women of color influenced fashion trends greatly but it is extremely ignored in the media by not acknowledging and respecting their role in fashion.

One of the first things that I thought of when thinking of black women and representation in the fashion industry was Rihanna and her new line of Fenty Beauty. Fenty Beauty has 40 different shades of foundation to fit women of all colors. This is why I chose audio of Rihanna talking about women of different shades and how they are represented in her line. I also used the audio and images from a video on Youtube called “How Beauty Brands failed women of color.” In this video, they talk about how in the past it is extremely hard for women of color to find good beauty products because the products are so skewed towards white consumers. This fits in with the idea that while women of color have influenced the fashion industry so much they still lack representation. This video also brings up Fenty Beauty and how it is working to switch that narrative. The quote that I chose was from the Hair Nah game “This is an issue black women face daily.” I chose this because it encompasses the struggle of black women in representation and in beauty standards.  It is clear to see there is more work to do when it comes to women of color being represented and respected but hopefully Fenty Beauty sparks a trend in the right direction.