French Vogue 'Black Face' Sparks Row

A Dutch model painted black from face to toe in French Vogue has triggered angry charges of racism. The photos of model Lara Stone, taken by US photographer Steven Klein, are part of the magazine's October issue honoring models and photo shoots through history. What French Vogue and the photographer "should know is that painting white people black for the entertainment of other white people is offensive," notes a comment in Jezebel.

Another reader complains that painting a Dutch model "to look African was like a terrible peek into a disgusting colonial attitude, and frankly, made me sick." Others wondered the mag didn't use a black woman. One notes: "Um, Paris Vogue? This isn't what we meant when we said we wanted to see more women of color in fashion magazines."
(More blackface stories.)