Opinion | Asian fashion influencers deserve the respect of luxury industry – so isn’t it time they had some?
- ‘Amateur photographers’ read the tart caption on an Instagram post of Asian fashion influencers and journalists videoing and snapping a Chloé show in Paris
- While its author meant no ill, it was emblematic of luxury’s disdain for the people representing its clients in what will soon be fashion’s biggest market
As the autumn/winter 2019 fashion shows were getting under way in Paris in late February, an Instagram post by Robin Givhan, the fashion critic of The Washington Post, sparked controversy among Asian media representatives attending Paris Fashion Week.
The photo depicted a group of Asian guests, including prominent editors and influencers, holding up their phones to film the parade of models at the end of the Chloé show.
A flurry of comments, some of them accusing Givhan of insensitivity and even outright racism, flooded the post, which Givhan had tersely captioned, “Amateur photographers”.
Prominent members of the fashion community, including Susie Lau aka Susie Bubble, Bryan Grey Yambao, known as Bryanboy, and Tina Craig of Bag Snob, who all have Asian backgrounds, also weighed in, directly addressing Givhan and pointing out how the post could be perceived by Asian media representatives, especially those portrayed in the picture.
Robin Givhan’s Instagram post
As someone who has attended the fashion shows in Europe and New York for well over a decade as part of the Asian contingent (I am in fact the only non-Asian face to appear in Givhan's photo), I can certainly understand why the post struck a nerve.