The fashion world has almost shed its reservations, and narrow mindedness and open-heartedly welcomed positive changes in terms of inclusiveness. True diversity on the runway was embraced by  New York Fashion week by including models of all genders, sizes, races and ages. This has been done to uphold the message that fashion is for all and there can be no discrimination.

36% the models  on the runway across  New York, Paris, Milan and London were  women of color. New York Fashion Week’s most booked models were from countries like Nigeria or Korea. 2 out of 5 models were colored which is a record-breaking instance of true diversity portrayed in the fashion world and speaks volumes about acceptance and changing mindsets.

Fashion Week Spring 2019 saw a soaring number of plus size women being on the runway. Plus size women had always been neglected in previous fashion shows, but in 2019, 54 plus size women had made appearance in about 15 Spring shows. New York designers like Chromat and Christian Siriano led the pack in introducing plus-size models for their shows.

Spring 2019 saw a huge number of transgender models on the runway . A total number of 91 transgender appearances happened, which is groundbreaking for the fashion industry. New York Fashion Week once again stole the show for being the most diverse; 53 of the 91 transgender appearances were on the New York runway. London had 16 transgender women, Paris 16 and Milan 6.

Models well above 40 or 50 were not left out in New York, Milan and London. Milan had the highest number of models above the age of 50 after New York owing to the Dolce & Gabbana Spring show. It is a welcome change to see more inclusion in the fashion industry.

Written by Mosunmi G.