Numéro's 'African Queen' Controversy Raises Legitimate Questions About How Many White Women Are Enough

Anne of Carversville is back, after an intense four days of opening our two new shops at Building Character in Lancaster, Pa. I’ll share the details soon … sort of a “best laid plans of mice and men” story. But we are open for business and will soon be a jewel!!

Meanwhile, back at the digital ranch there was quite a brouhaha last week over Numéro magazine’s ‘African Queen’ editorial. I weighed in when the controversy first broke out and again today. Trying to move the conversation out of topics of quotas, fashion industry racism, reverse racism, and the creative egos of libertarian men — I look at the controversy from the standpoint of the Smart Sensuality women: smart, sexy and with heart. After all, she is a large consumer of these brands and products. ~ Anne

Ondria Hardin Plays ‘African Queen’, Lensed by Sebastian Kim for Numéro 141 AOC Sensual Rebel

When I ask myself if I would ever use a Caucasian woman in black makeup to sellGlamTribale jewelry, the answer is clearly ‘no’. Even though I do believe strongly that we are all African queens because humanity began in the Omo Valley, I don’t need to wear black skin to celebrate my heritage. I am Caucasian for official purposes and also wear the privileges and stereotypes associated with that skin color. I simply can’t go into the mindset of an African woman — or an African American woman — because of my inexperience.

Is White Models Going Black for Fashion’s Sake What Luxury Customers Desire? AOC Sensual Rebel

Charlotte Cowles wrote:

No black models walked in A.F. Vandevorst’s show in Paris today, but several of the light-skinned girls appeared on the catwalk with their arms and hands painted black. Obviously, this looks bad. (When will fashion LEARN?) If the Vandevorst designers really wanted that visual effect, why not just have everyone wear gloves?

Is it ‘lame’ as FC suggests to point out this fact? No. It is never ‘lame’ for people to question the relationship between branding, marketing, images and their real-world impact on peoples’ psyches and especially the female psyche which is bombarded daily by the business strategies of mostly white men worldwide. 

Bernard Arnault Explores Luxury Brands & Smart Sensuality Values 

Arnault is known for having patience with a designer’s creative vision, even if—as with Dior—the financial results are mixed.

“Designers are closer to artists than to engineers,” Arnault says. “They’re not like normal managers, and you have to balance their creativity and rationality. John, Karl, Marc, they’re genius. You can’t put them into a rational environment. They’re sometimes late, and you have to accept that if you work with them, you have to be understanding with them.”

Also:

Cultural Creatives Now 35% of US | 10% In Transition

Cultural Creatives often describe themselves as ‘bridge people’ between the Traditionalsand Moderns, ‘trying to make a ‘cultural synthesis’ that moves the world beyond its polarized opposites.