The October issue of Numéro magazine is under fire for an editorial spread in which French model and Estée Lauder face Constance Jablonski poses in a brown Afro wig and dark makeup with an actual black baby. Really? Is that hot? Is that groundbreaking? Is that creative? It's just stupid, just like it was stupid during the vaudeville era. It's not comical. It's not subversive. It's not meaningful or purposeful. We're just going to put it out there: Using blackface images in magazines obviously sells and draws publicity. Why else would fashion magazines continue using this tired technique in their editorial spreads? Had you heard of Numéro before? Exactly. Here's the memo to the fashion industry: Blackface editorials are racist and played out, and when you use them, it makes you look wack. Now go and hire a black fashion director to explain what "played out" and "wack" means and why the continued use of blackface is inappropriate.
Check out the spread at Jezebel.com.