As a black freelance fashion stylist and creative consultant, I spend a lot of time moulding myself to fit into an industry that has often refused to accept me because of the colour of my skin. That is a really tough existence to live. It frequently means I have to minimise my feelings, to become as small as possible just so people will hear me. For me, and so many others, this takes a huge, daily toll on our mental health.
The conversations we are having might get uncomfortable: this is a learning process, and there’ll be moments when the fashion industry will sometimes get it wrong. But as a first step, it’s vital that everyone is actively listening, even when we hear things that are hard to take in. At the end of the day, we’re not asking for special treatment, we’re asking to be treated fairly, and that starts with barriers to entering the industry being lifted.
Many companies have donated money to public anti-racist funds, but they also need to look closer at what equality measures are available to their own employees and prospective employees, beginning with paying attention to how many ethnic minorities work at their organisations. I don’t know how comfortable brands are about publicly revealing these internal reports, but this is the transparency we need to move forward. One step every brand could make today is mandatory diversity training.