Life
Brazil: More black models should be included in Rio fashion show
“Unfortunately, in 2010, a conservative prosecutor removed the quotas,” lamented Father David, a Franciscan friar who heads the Educafro non-governmental organization, which lobbies for the rights of blacks and indigenous people on the labor market.
Diversity advocates say show organizers and fashion labels simply ignored the quota and stress that only compulsory rules can bring about lasting changes.
Father David said he had appealed the ruling against the quotas and said a hearing was scheduled for January 15, four days before the scheduled opening of the SPFW.
In education, Brazil already adopted quotas for underprivileged blacks to get into universities.
“You just can’t discriminate against blacks in Brazil, where 51 percent of the population is black or mixed-race. I think that the justice system will react favorably to our pressure and this decision will influence the fashion world across the country,” Father David noted.
Luana Genot, one of the eight black models out of more 200 employed by the main Rio modeling agency, 40° Models, gave details of the hurdles blacks face.
“They call us only when the the theme of the show is linked to black culture,” said the 23-year-old who is also an advertising student at Rio Catholic University (PUC).
