Diversity, sustainability and authenticity. Three keywords that were in hot waters ever since, most especially now with brands being cancelled left and right. The pandemic has left no stone unturned.

The conscious effort of brands and public figures to sweep the dust under the rug has been put to waste (pun intended) with several netizens calling them out for their errors mostly rooted in either the lack of representation in casting or not being transparent enough when it comes to production and their respective labor systems.

With the backlash Vogue US has been facing due to editor-in-chief Anna Wintour publicly admitting to not giving enough space to people of color since taking the helm in 1988 and former editor-at-large Andre Leon Talley’s exposé in his book ‘The Chiffon Trenches,’ the glossy magazine has lost its luster. This lead to the #VogueChallenge that first started on Twitter where users shared their best cover-worthy photos, especially from the black community, to prove that they too deserve the spotlight with or without the publication’s green light. Colorism has always been evident in fashion—no matter how much they try to downplay it. It’s rare to see a dark-skinned woman on the cover on even in campaigns as most of these brands who try to portray diversity would either cast a light-skinned female or have their hair straightened to get a pass and be identified as ‘woke.’

Unfortunately, this situation applies to all POC and across different cultures. Finding a brand to support with genuine core values is like finding an oasis in a desert, often leaving us barefoot in scorching sands. But now that the masses are putting more pressure one can only wonder—when will you ever learn?

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