According to Beverly Johnson, there’s “no diversity in the upper echelon” of the fashion industry.
The 67-year-old model – who recently penned an op-ed about racism for the Washington Post newspaper – has insisted that the fight against racism within the industry must come from the top down.
Beverly recently appeared on “Good Morning America” and had this to say: “There is no diversity in the upper echelon. None. We don’t have a seat at the table. We have no representation in the fashion world.
“On the outside now, you’re seeing Black models and you think we’re getting somewhere. But basically, the economics of the business, we are not participating financially.”
In her recent op-ed, Beverly claimed the fashion business has been “slow” to include Black people.
The model was the first Black person to adorn the cover of Vogue when she posed for the shoot in 1974 and amid talk of the Black Lives Matter movement, she feels more should be done to include Black people in the industry.
Beverly wrote: “I was meant to usher in a current of change in the fashion industry. But as the national conversation around racism expands, stories about discrimination in the fashion industry and at Vogue, in particular, have come under the spotlight.
“The industry was slow to include other Black people in other aspects of the fashion and beauty industry. Silence on race was then – and still is – the cost of admission to the fashion industry’s top echelons.”
Beverly also vowed to continue fighting “racism and exclusion” in the fashion and beauty industry.
She shared: “I hope to continue fighting the racism and exclusion that have been an ugly part of the beauty business for far too long.”
