Back to Beauty Mon 07 Mar
25 year old British supermodel Jourdan Dunn, who has won over contracts with Burberry, Balmain and H&M and has been the face of YSL and Maybelline has called for more diversity on the runway inside Elle UK’s April cover issue.
“There are definitely a lot more girls of color being represented. But I also feel like we’re 100 per cent still not there. I want to see us get to a place where seeing a black girl, anywhere, is not such a big deal. Why can’t it just be the norm to see black models in campaigns and on covers and runways? It’s still too much of a big thing when this happens.”
Jourdan is known for being very outspoken when it comes to the ongoing discussion about diversity in the modelling industry. She tells ELLE that she is sometimes told to take down certain things on social media by her agency. “Why would I take it down? That’s how I feel, that’s how I felt and it is what it is…”
She states that she gets excited when she sees a fellow model of colour doing her thing and getting those magazine covers, but also mentions that she has had to shut out a lot of outside noise when herself and buddy Chanel Iman were starting out in the industry. Jourdan and Chanel endured in the never ending comparison battle, the same as Naomi Campbell and Tyra Banks but admits that she came to a realisation that we should all be supporting and praising each other.
It’s lovely to see that the supermodel has bagged a spot as a top earning model on the Forbes list – after earning 2.4m in 2014 still staying true to her roots. Well Dunn.
Jourdan will be launching a children’s wear line called ‘Lil Londunn’ in collaboration with M&S which will hit stores in April, exactly one year after first speaking out about her collection with Vogue. This range will consist of 22 adorably edgy boys and girls – inspired by son Riley (6)
Words by Sade Johnson @Sade__X
Edited by Araminta Pender @mintypender
