IMG, supermodel Joan Smalls, and the Black in Fashion Council are partnering with Color of Change, the nation’s largest online racial justice organization. Together they’ll be launching #ChangeFashion, a series of initiatives to fight racism and systemic issues in the fashion industry.
“The #ChangeFashion Roadmap is the resource we’ve been needing, for both my industry peers and the brands and executives we collaborate with,” Smalls said in a statement. “We have to start putting actions behind our words. We cannot sit back and hope that change will come, we must be the force that makes it happen. Making changes can be difficult but the purpose behind the #ChangeFashion Roadmap is that no one person or organization has to act alone. This resource will push the boundaries of what fashion is capable of, empowering all of us to be the force for good we desperately need.”
The Roadmap will include key areas such as championing representation of Black individuals at fashion shoots and events, increasing authentic depictions in front of the camera, and increasing diversity on set behind the camera. (The full roadmap is available HERE.)
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“We are proud to deepen our partnerships with Color Of Change, the Black in Fashion Council, and Joan Smalls, lending our network and resources to support substantive change and lasting reform in fashion,” said Ivan Bart, president of IMG Models and Fashion, on behalf of the leaders of IMG’s fashion properties, including Art + Commerce, IMG Models, The Wall Group, IMG FOCUS, and IMG Fashion Events. “Meaningful change requires commitment from every corner of our industry, and we are committed to doing our part to foster racial equity and inclusion.”
#ChangeFashion is the third iteration of a multi-industry racial accountability franchise from Color of Change. The first was #ChangeHollywood with Michael B. Jordan in close partnership with WME and Endeavor. The second is #ChangeMusic is being executed with the Recording Academy.
“Fighting racism can’t just be the trend of the season,” said Rashad Robinson, president of Color Of Change. “And there are two fronts to the fight: ending the longstanding discrimination and mistreatment of Black creators and other professionals working across the industry and ending the longstanding pattern of misrepresenting Black bodies and diminishing Black lives, which perpetuates the dehumanization of Black people in society at large. The fashion industry has an important role to play in dismantling structural racism, and Color Of Change is proud to work in partnership with any organization that is serious about doing what it takes to drive real change.”
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