25 year-old supermodel Nykhor Paul has had enough of the fashion industry’s inability to cater for her skin tone at photo shoots and runway shows, and has taken to Instagram to air her frustrations:

“Dear white people in the fashion world! Please don’t take this the wrong way but it’s time you people get your shit right when it comes to our complexion! Why do I have to bring my own makeup to a professional show when all the other white girls don’t have to do anything but show up wtf! Don’t try to make me feel bad because I am blue black its 2015 go to Mac, Bobbi Brown, Makeup forever, Iman cosmetic, black opal, even Lancôme and Clinique carried them plus so much more. there’s so much options our there for dark skin tones today. A good makeup artist would come prepare and do there research before coming to work because often time you know what to expect especially at a show! Stop apologizing it’s insulting and disrespectful to me and my race it doesn’t help, seriously! Make an effort at least! That goes for NYC, London, Milan, Paris and Cape Town plus everywhere else that have issues with black skin tones.

Terrible grammar aside, the girl has a point. She goes on to say:

Just because you only book a few of us doesn’t mean you have the right to make us look ratchet. I’m tired of complaining about not getting book as a black model and I’m definitely super tired of apologizing for my blackness!!!! Fashion is art, art is never racist it should be inclusive of all not only white people, shit we started fashion in Africa and you modernize and copy it! Why can’t we be part of fashion fully and equally?”

I wonder if the models who must take their own make-up to wear in shows put on by multi-billion dollar fashion houses get to send a bill for it at the end? I’m guessing not. Hopefully her outburst won’t fall on deaf ears, but considering that a whopping 80% of the models in the Autumn 2015 shows were white, it seems unlikely a proper change is coming any time soon.

[source: Jezebel]