For every Dolce & Gabbana debacle or Victoria’s Secret controversy, there are other industry leaders devoted to promoting diversity and inclusivity in fashion. In fact, it’s becoming more of the norm across the board, from advertising to editorials.
And, as it turns out, fashion magazines in 2018 looked a lot more diverse than ever before, according to a study released by Fashionista that reviewed the covers of nine major American style publications over the past year. The results found that, overall, the amount of covers that featured non-white women increased by a record-breaking 32.3% in 2018.
InStyle, Glamour (which announced in November it would be pivoting to digital in 2019), and Allure led the pack in terms of representation. In addition, the study also analyzed Cosmopolitan, W, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire, and Vogue; the latter four were the least diverse magazines of the year (Harper’s Bazaar featured just four women of color on 12 issues). Still, despite setbacks from some of the most revered publications in the world, of the issues analyzed, 54.5% included cover stars that were from “non-white” backgrounds, which, as the site notes at the bottom of the study “included those of mixed race and of Latinx or Hispanic descent.”
Considering that’s a 32.3% increase from 2017, it’s clear the industry is on the right track. The only question is, when will it feel more evenly spread and like everyone is committed to promoting diversity—not just a select few?