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And somewhere in reading about how the Black issue came about, someone said something about Obama, the next president of the United States. Vogue's Italian Editor-in-Chief, Franca Sozzani

Here in Italy, everybody is crazy about Obama, even people who never talk about American politics. It’s the new way to see a country where something can always happen. It’s a young country and modern. The feeling is similar to the Kennedys, but 50 years later. Ultimately, it’s not about race.

So next month, black beauties will grace the pages of Vogue. These are your black beauties: Alek Wek, Tyra Banks, Iman, Naomi Campbell, Liya Kebede, Pat Cleveland, Jourdan Dunn, Sessilee Lopez, Chanel Iman, Veronica Webb, and Karen Alexander. Italian Vogue says its more than the beautiful faces, it is their stories.

Of course it's about race.

Jourdan Dunn said this, on race long before this issue:

London’s not a white city, so why should all our castings be white? I go to castings and see several black and Asian girls, then I get to the show and look around and there’s just me and maybe one other coloured face. They just don’t get picked. I hope it’s because the designer just didn’t think they were good enough as a model, but I don’t know.

And perhaps this rings true, and says it best, a quote from Iman:

I still don’t like us (black models) to be a caricature. They’ll think, “Okay, we did it.” And then they’re done with it, and we’ll have to wait till next year … When you see commercials and movies and every other form of art in terms of entertainment, you never have this conversation. So it is so outdated. I can only say that one of the reasons is that models have never had unions, so there is no one to say, “This isn’t right.”

It is certainly a departure from the usual white models (who all look alike if you ask me). However, as we know fashion is cyclic and these women will soon not be in vogue.  Although the fashion industry reflects some on society, we cannot rely on it to direct the trends on who is beautiful and who is not. Even with white women, models hardly represent true society.