Supermodel Joan Smalls on why the fashion industry needs to become more racially aware

Beautiful, glossy haired, with swooping cheekbones and a svelte figure, Joan Smalls has become an industry trailblazer for racial diversity. Like Gigi and Bella Hadid and Karlie Kloss, she is one of the most recognisable models in the world, walking for brands including Chanel, Prada and Tommy Hilfiger, and with an Instagram following of 1.9 million. Nevertheless, as a mixed-race Latina model from Puerto Rico, Smalls also has experienced firsthand the industry’s problems with discrimination.

There has been a lot of talk about diversity in fashion in the past year with regards to age, size and race and at the recent Business of Fashion Voices conference, Smalls aired her views on the issue of race:

“The industry should be reflective of the world that we live in,” she said. “I feel brands have to be more open-minded and mindful when they choose their cast [for the runway and campaigns] because they do hold a social responsibility to represent their consumers in the media and advertising.”

Looking at the catwalk shows, she said: “I see a runway with all the same models that are just cloned, I’m like: ‘Is that your beauty? Is that your world?’ It’s very one-sided and bland.”

The 28-year-old psychology graduate, who grew up on a farm in Puerto Rico, had just walked the Victoria’s Secret catwalk show in Paris with models from different cultural backgrounds – although such diversity is not always the norm.

“I remember when I started modelling and being the only non-white girl in the fashion show,” says Smalls in our subsequent interview. “I was grateful to be there, but at the casting there had been many beautiful women of different descriptions, and I was wondering why they were not being represented. It is not just about a designing a beautiful collection, it is about putting out a positive message about social responsibility.”