Over the holiday week and weekend, photographer Anne-Marie Michel posted photos from the Kulture 2 Couture show on our international blog iPapier. One of the primary reasons behind the importance of this show is how it highlights the black designer. There have been several stories stemming from recent fashion weeks about the lack of diversity on the runway and behind the scenes. One of the more in-depth articles that looks at this absence was highlighted several weeks back on this blog and in the New York Times.

I won’t speak in platitudes or share high minded reasons as to why a show like this is necessary. I will say that this show magnifies why diversity in fashion is important. A lot of what was shown would not have even been on the radar if this event did not exist. While multiple publications (online and in print) and blogs miss that next great designer who happens to be in the minority (pick one), this show says “look here, they truly exist…and they’re good!” To go a step further, these designers are not simply “so and so… the black designer” doomed to a typecast existence. They become “the designer that is a master at using (insert fabric/method/cut here)”.

So as I gingerly step off my soapbox, I’ll point you in the direction of our Kulture 2 Couture coverage in London at the V&A on iPapier.

From the Kulture Couture fashion show published on iPapier photography Anne-Marie Michel