Diversity Now!

"Fashion is a powerful communicator to people about their identity...we believe that this power can be used for good, to promote individuality and self-esteem through creativity and diversity."

- All Walks Beyond The Catwalk

Raising awareness on all types of people has always been important for All Walks Beyond The Catwalk. The initiative constantly highlights the need to include everyone in fashion. 

All Walks is now looking for students to help join the cause. Launched at this year's Graduate Fashion Week, Diversity Now! is a competition designed to discover those who will carry on fighting for diversity in fashion. The idea is to showcase fashion on every type of individual in the fields of the following: womenswear, menswear, fashion films, zines, photography, journalism, illustration. The winner will receive an chance to have their work featured on i-D online, not to mention potentially featuring in an All Walks campaign.

The image above is just one of the many great examples of work from students showing diversity. The photograph is by UCA Epsom's very own Maggie Ibiam - a 3rd year student. "For my FMP I did a photoshoot which was meant to represent contemporary London fashion and how various elements from different cultures have become linked and merged as one. It was also a great way to showcase my abilities and my perspective of fashion," says Ibiam.

"Without diversity I personally think fashion would suffer."

For details on the competition, click here

Philomena Kwao to be Britain's first black 'plus-size' supermodel?

Former Miss Ghana title holder Philomena Kwao has become the newest addition to the Models 1 family. The size 16 student from Kent is currently renowned for winning high street label Evans' modelling competition. 

The competition, run in conjunction with style369.com, resulted in Kwao being signed up to Excel-Models 1, the newest division of the agency created for the curvier model.

Kwao says: 'Healthier body attitudes and a backlash against REALLY skinny models have led to a fair few designers rethinking the models they send down catwalks, and magazines to appraise their approach in their fashion pages.'

Kwao will appear in May's issue of Cosmopolitan in a beach-inspired shoot for the publication. She endeavours to become Britain's first black supermodel and empower other females.

She has completed a BA in economics and is currently studying for her MSc in International Health Management at the Imperial College, London, proving that brains and beauty is not an oxymoron. We look forward to following her rise to the top.

Protest In Progress: Part Two

In the quest for diversity on fashion, we asked three further groups of fashion students from the Edinburgh College of Art about the protest mannequins they had created...

Mannequin four (from left) - "It's What's Inside That Counts"
Lisa Berry and Catrina Murphy enveloped their mannequin in layers of text, using words such as voluptuous and curvy to promote a healthier body image. The words "It's What's Inside That Counts" fell from inside the mannequin to emphasise their key message. They stated: "We are trying to open people's eyes, push new ideas and make a change" and referred to designers such as Mark Fast as a great encouragement.

Mannequin five - "Plastic"
Loren Jean and Salwa McGill created their mannequin by manipulating plastic into a 50s female form. Interested in the combination of industrial and commercial materials, they used thick bolts and screws to weld the mannequin together. Their overall message was the importance of "inside as well as out", challenging the Edinburgh public to see beyond the surface.

Mannequin six - "Break the Barrier"
Heather Dooley and Fern Fisher stenciled the bold statement "Break the Barrier" onto their white mannequin, to encourage a wider range of model size and ethnicity. They then placed images of models with various origins around their slogan. They stated that the campaign was "not about stopping 'the skinny' but embracing the new body", challenging narrow perceptions of beauty.

Did Freida have to get her kit off to get on the cover?

Esquire UK April 2012

Whilst we're pleased to see an Indian woman on the cover of Esquire's April 2012 issue, we're wondering if Slumdog Millionaire's Freida Pinto had to strip off to stand out? The 27-year-old actress and regular cover star showed a rarely seen sultry side for this month's newsstand.

This month's issue notwithstanding, diversity is a word that doesn't seem to appear in Esquire's lexicon. Afro-Caribbean and Asian models rarely grace their front covers. And as readers of both men's and women's magazines come in array of shapes, sizes and ethnicities, isn't it about time we saw the diversity of the human race represented? Beauty should be more inclusive. And fully-clothed.

All the Rage

The All Walks protest march around the city of Edinburgh on Wednesday proved to be more than a success. Not only did the teams from Edinburgh College of Art and the University for the Creative Arts raise awareness and receive positive responses from the public, who were actively engaged in supporting the cause of diversity in fashion, but we even got a slot in the Edinburgh Evening News!

With copious amounts of enthusiasm and energy, we proved that there is a strong demand for change. There is no doubt that we, as the next generation, can make a positive difference for the fashion industry. The Diversity in Fashion team is very excited to continue our collaboration with the Edinburgh College of Art students, and carry on the campaign. The protests in Edinburgh were only the beginning of what is sure to be an enduring and influential project. Next stop, London Fashion Week!

Get involved by following the Diversity in Fashion team on Facebook here and on Twitter here.

Protest In Progress: Part One

Day two of our All Walks collaboration and we're taking the mannequins out onto the streets of Edinburgh to challenge the public's views and opinions of beauty. Here are the first three of the bunch...

Mannequin one (from left) - "Alice"

Holly Glover, Melissa Villevielle, Sarah Kilkenny and Bella McLeod have used a collage of diverse images to showcase forms of beauty rarely seen in commercial, westernised magazines. Melissa said, "It's such a dynamic and colourful world out there. There's so much more than the bland models you mostly get."

Mannequin two - "Reflector"

Instead of forcing their message onto the public, Colleen Leitch, Lilly Archebald and Emma Lawrie decided it was better to hear how people perceive themselves. Recreating the effect of looking in the mirror by using reflective material, they are trying to encourage a positive rather than a negative response. "We don't just want to tell people [our message], we want people to tell us," said Lilly.

Mannequin three - "Marilyn"

Andrew Dhesi, Nina Cutler and Kate Cockburn contrasted pre-Raphaelite nudes with the skinny models of today to show that throughout history, the beauty ideal has changed many times. "Beauty is malleable, not concrete." They raise the question, if curves were beautiful back then, why in a more liberal world are they not beautiful now?