by Carmen Van Kerckhove
I guess someone at Moschino is feeling nostalgic for the good ole days of segregation.
Check out their new ad campaign, where white, Asian and black models each have their own ad. Heaven forbid we mix races!
And why is the only naked woman in the whole series black?
(Hat tip to Fashionista. Thanks to Bianca for the tip!)
“And why is the only naked woman in the whole series black?”
Good question, but actually, why even have a naked woman at all? I’m sure your question encompasses my question, too 
Yeah I noticed the one naked woman in the Black group too. Creepy!
~F
OK first let me say, I LOVE this blog!
As for the naked Black woman, now yall know good and well Black women are only wenches to be used and abused for the sexual pleasure of white men, right? (that’s my attempt at angry sarcasm lol)…
Gives us a whole new meaning of vintage fashion!
SIGH
I think it’s for the contrast with the shoes.
why does the black model have to be naked?????????????????
Like everyone else, I repeat: why did the black girl have to be the only nudie??? Good lord.
Why did they feel the need to separate human beings by color?
From a marketing perspective, what were they aiming to achieve with this ad?
I’m surprised that no one has brought this up yet, but…. why are all the Asian models wearing only yellow??
and why are all of the asian women wearing yellow!?
and why are all the asain women dressed in yellow?!! dear lord this is frightening.
I see it differently, I don’t see it as segregation. I see it as each box has a different theme, in colour and style of clothing.
Why does it matter thats he naked, its fashion, there is a lot of nudity in fashion. Its done with class.
Warning: Devil’s Advocate
“And why is the only naked woman in the whole series black?”
I admit, I thought this myself. But then I realized that I’d have asked a similar question, no matter where the naked chick was.
Let’s think about this for a second. Honestly, if the naked woman was in the “Asians-only” shoot, some of us would complain about the hypersexual Asian female stereotype — which would be fair, considering the portrayal of East Asian women.
But if the naked woman was in the white setup, I’m fairly certain we’d get quite a few complaints about the celebration of the “porcelain/alabaster flesh” ideal of yore. After all, black and East Asian skin is lush/supple/whatever also.
My point? It’s a no-win situation here. A potential “solution” would be to nix the whole segregation idea altogether, but I bet we’d get similar results if there was one naked model in a single, racially-diverse shot.
Also, as an artist, I think it’s unfair to automatically assume they’re “feeling nostalgic for the good ole days of segregation” (and somewhat irresponsible to say in jest, without explanation — if that’s the case here). Sometimes, it really is about the composition, and while I’d love to get worked up in an indignant furor here (as I hear I tend to do), I see these ads (well, the Black and Asian ones) as beautiful (if unoriginal) compositions due to their use of uniformity among the models… at least, at this size.
Forgive the overuse of the parentheses. Too tired to care.
And why is the only naked woman in the whole series black?
I wanted to blog about this, but I really didn’t want to be pacified with, “they may find black women more sexually attractive, that’s all”. This doesn’t look like respectful admiration, but more like submissive humiliation, to me.
Since the black woman was singled out for this exploitation, I can’t help but to find it suspicious and demeaning… oh, and what’s with the red? Further more, I wouldn’t doubt it was arranged by a person who may well view black womenhood not deserving of virtuous respect. Well, people’s “subconscious” bigotry usually comes out in their “art” expressions anyway.
Another thing, regarding the Asian models, I find them oddly monotonous in comparison, not to mention the peculiar choice of color. Maybe I read into things too much, who knows…
I don’t get why people are offended by these ads
Maybe I’m a little loopy today but… Are we sure those “Black” models are really Black and not Caucasian models painted Black? What makes me think this is that they are all the exact same complexion. I can’t really see their faces but the look like they could be the same models in the other panels. Same thoughts on the so-called “Asian” models too.
I believe it’s the same set of models in all three panels.
yea, why only the black woman nude? Why not have all nude? I’d be ok with that…
And we should also ask why all the white models are blonde…it seems like they’re just going for the uniformity look here.
visit the moschino site. the black girls are definitely black, the asian girls look like asians/eurasians and the white girls are certainly white.
why the segregation? who knows? there seems to be a homogenous thread for each of the moschino off-shoots–occhiali, jeans, cheap & chic, etc.,
they are definitely going for uniformity–i don’t think it’s racist. maybe a little racial.
The “Asian” models are all wearing yellow. The “black” models are all wearing pink or black. The “white” models are wearing all three colors.
It’s a subconscious hint that white people think they transcend race!
I think we are looking into this a bit to deep…
Did anyone also notice that the section with the blondes has a different coloured poster?
Right before shooting this ad, I wonder how the models felt about being separated by the color of their skin. Also, it’s interesting to know how they decided which model would be naked.
In fact, why one naked model, and if so, why black rather than white or Asian? And, Why not a naked model for each group?
I think this issue is over blown and we really don’t have much information about the photos.
Its possible that there are only three models. Each photographed wearing one color theme and then the multiple images photoshopped together, because the models look extremely similar.
I don’t know why the black model is the only nude one, but I disagree with the earlier comment that nudity is inherently exploitative.
If people were more comfortable with nudity and had a better appreciation for the beauty of the human body in the many shapes it comes in we might not have as many body image issues as a society.
This may be OT, but I think maybe there should be a post on the definition of racism…
I disagree with some. When dealing with racism, it’s essential to pick at the subtle and unconscious messages. We can agree that people are not as blunt in their prejudice towards colored people as they were 50 or 100 years ago. Incidents like this ad must be looked at carefully to expose the hidden prejudice or the unconscious bias that, at times, inevitably slips out.
The Asian models are wearing a light gold, not yellow. Note the contrast with the one holding the silver bag.
while I don’t have a problem with the women being segregated, (i actually like it), I do have a problem with the only person who is naked being the black woman. They could have had 1 Asian woman naked.
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of New Demographic, an anti-racism training company. She hosts the podcast Addicted to Race and blogs at Racialicious, Anti-Racist Parent, and Race in the Workplace.
Racialicious! is a production of New Demographic.
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