Representation Matters: A Dive into Asian Representation in the Fashion Community.
2 Vogue Covers, a couple name drops, and that’s it.
The representation of Asian people in America is very small and needs to be pushed more. Our frontiers such as Vera Wang, Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto, Hyein Seo, Phillip Lim are all amazing, but where is the new wave of Asian designers? Why is there ONLY 48 members who identify as Asian out of 500+ members in the CFDA? Where is the recognition from the West?
Growing up in America, there were only a small pool of Asian representation and even then media typecasted to fit a specific role,“Exotic, Nerdy, Weak, Feeble, Powerless”. This in return has caused many people to question their identity, their place in society, and what it means to be essentially American. Coming from cultural backgrounds and from personal experience as a first generation American, I began to wonder if I could succeed. There weren’t many people like me especially in creative fields to reveal that we are accepted in these spaces.
27% of the Fortune 500 have 0 Asian representation and when looking into professions, promotions were very slow when hitting senior roles versus other promotions. Notably, Asian representation was only concentrated in specific fields of finances according to WWD. Systematically, Visas were given to Asians immigrants for only STEM/Finance fields furthering the stereotype of academic only and it seems it has lingered to even now. While there are cultural differences in pr
How do we inspire the younger generation if we don’t give them the representation and inspiration to be greater?
As I get older and see more visual representation, I began to question where are the POC in important leadership roles that ACTUALLY benefit to the commitment of diversity? Fashion is a living culture and the conglomeration of society and it’s a necessity to represent those who have came before us and those who will come after us.
The real solution is for the fashion companies and other brands who dedicate their brand to diversity and equity should take into account of the lack of. While the talk of race and ethnicity doesn’t apply to talent, it is still crucial to recognize talent from different cultures. As an Asian American, it’s kind of insane to see the lack of Asian representation while seeing Asian motifs throughout fashion history. From movements of “exoticism” and “orientalism” to Karl Lagerfield’s love for 18th century French chinoiserie to literally painting his white models with yellow paint and creating a “Diversity Issue” with … no diversity… While fashion is still growing and evolving, we must include those who are underrepresented. POC have much more to give than diversity points, it’s time for companies to truly pave a truly diverse brand.
And to anyone who opposes the thought of lack of representation and systematic racism, we dedicated an entire met gala to a man who was racist and sexist. Which really shows that representation is performative, not active.
and to the POC designers diligently working, thank you for leading the way for our future generations.
