Robin Givhan on Lanvin’s Fashion Statement

Written By Shannon Washington

“As soon as you put five girls together as a group—African-American or Asian—it does make a statement: a political statement,” says André Leon Talley, contributing editor at Vogue and a judge on America’s Next Top Model. “We’re supposed to be living in a postracial, nonracial world. We’re just not there.”

Just in time for New York Fashion Week, noted fashion and culture critic Robin Givhan has much to say about Alber Elbaz’s showstopping finale for his Lanvin S/S 2011 show in Paris back in October, which featured five fierce black models. Elbaz maintains that his decision was purely based in aesthetic, but judging from the crowd’s reaction, it was much more. See how Robin breaks it down over at New York Magazine.

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