In April 2020, I decided not to launch an anti-racism campaign against Vogue Italia, because what would be the point?
Why bother?
Vogue Italia launched their April all-white cover with a note describing the reason why they went for the colour white.
“White is first of all respect.
White is rebirth, the light after darkness, the sum of all colours…”
These words are just metaphors, right?
Even then it begs the question, so what’s the colour Black then?
And, is this racist though?
And with so much on our minds right now, is racism a topic we want to talk about again and again?
Yes, I’m afraid so.
I didn’t launch the anti-racism campaign and instead have been sharing my story and Life Lessons Learned.
Leading The Pitch Fanzine’s network of inclusive super creative people home with me to uplift and share knowledge with Jamaica, the Caribbean, and the world, creatively.
And save the planet.
We are in a knowledge revolution.
Best wishes,
Sherry Collins (her / us)
Kenisha
Sherry-Ann Collins
Jamaican Freedom Fighter
Fighting for the creative freedom of the Jamaican peopledem.
The Vogue Italia Note (posted on Instagram)
“In its long history stretching back over a hundred years, Vogue has come through wars, crises, acts of terrorism. Its noblest tradition is never to look the other way.
Just under two weeks ago, we were about to print an issue that we had been planning for some time, and which also involved L’Uomo Vogue in a twin project.
But to speak of anything else – while people are dying, doctors and nurses are risking their lives and the world is changing forever – is not the DNA of Vogue Italia. Accordingly, we shelved our project and started from scratch.
The decision to print a completely white cover for the first time in our history is not because there was any lack of images – quite the opposite. We chose it because white signifies many things at the same time.
White is first of all respect.
White is rebirth, the light after darkness, the sum of all colours.
White is the colour of the uniforms worn by those who put their own lives on the line to save ours.
It represents space and time to think, as well as to stay silent.
White is for those who are filling this empty time and space with ideas, thoughts, stories, lines of verse, music and care for others.
White recalls when, after the crisis of 1929, this immaculate colour was adopted for clothes as an expression of purity in the present, and of hope in the future.
Above all: white is not surrender, but a blank sheet waiting to be written, the title page of a new story that is about to begin.”
#EmanueleFarneti
@EFarneti
#imagine
#FarAwaySoClose
#WhiteCanvas
Full credits:
Editor in chief @Efarneti
Creative director @FerdinandoVerderi
The article intro - Is this racist though?
I don’t often ask for opinions on my work while I’m creating it, because it can become quite distracting. But I found myself asking everyone I know to comment on and support my new idea, a social media anti-racism campaign against Vogue Italia, focusing on the text they used in their note to describe their all-white April issue cover, specifically the way they described the colour white as signifying all that is good.
My campaign was to ask them the simple question: What is Black then?
I researched the hell out of the idea. I canvassed for opinions from mentors and friends, not just because I wanted them to say it was a good idea, but because I wanted them to agree with me that Vogue Italia was out of order. Some liked the idea, and some didn’t. I was told as well that this is “one moment” I should just “let it pass.”
“For Vogue Italia to get the racist undertones in their note, they would have to get a long history lesson before they got the point, and then nothing would change, so don’t bother.”
Usually I wouldn’t bother. I’ve not bothered so many times in the past, but for some strange reason I couldn’t let this one slide. I thought about nothing else except the need for a campaign to respond to Vogue Italia and tell them “I see you”.
Vogue Italia has a global platform powered by Condé Nast International. They are a respected brand and what they say and the words they use, from a position of power, matter, even more so now. The editors-in-chief of Vogue’s twenty-six global editions have also recently agreed to adhere to certain values from 2020, including striving to be representative of their readership. In a joint statement they said: “We speak with a unified voice across twenty-six editions standing for the values of diversity, responsibility, and respect for individuals, communities...”
Yes, we are currently going through a crisis and yes we should do all that we can to show how much we care by using our brands for good, but you would think a brand which is so keen on respect for individuals and communities would have at least asked the question of the note, is this racist though?
Best wishes,
Sherry Collins (her / us)
Kenisha
Sherry-Ann Collins
Jamaican Freedom Fighter
Fighting for the creative freedom of the Jamaican peopldem.
Update on the anti-racism campaign I didn’t launch against Vogue Italia on April 19, 2020. The editor-in-chief of Vogue Italia, Emanuele Farneti, got back to me on April 20, 2020 and sent his apologies for any offence caused.
It’s been three years since then, looking across the landscape, not much has changed for our communities.
I do however imagine a future where we will create in an inclusive world and have mutual respect for each other.