White Model in Black

The photographer Steven Klein for the October issue of Vogue France have been accused of racism. In his photos, the model Lara Stone was painted in black. The SOS Racisme president Dominique Sopo thought that the shooting had no racist intent, but it was insensitive of the magazine.

In my opinion, I agree with Sopo that the editors of Vogue France were not sensitive to the potential problem of racism that the photos might provoke. Perhaps France has no significant history of racism as the United States, but I think that turning a white person into black with cosmetics undoubtedly triggers criticism across different cultures. Unfortunately, this is the taboo of the dominant culture.