Sao Paulo fashionstas, prosecutors reach deal

Last year’s Sao Paulo Fashion Week was marred when an investigation revealed a terrible lack of black and mixed-race models sashaying on the runway. Though nearly half of Brazil’s population is said to be black or of mixed race, only eight of the 344 models at last year’s event were black.

With threats by authorities to shut down this year’s event, offaicls and organizers reached an agreement:

Under its terms, fashion brands must ensure that 10% of the models are of African or Indigenous descent…

Companies failing to meet the new target could face the prospect of being fined more than $120,000…

While there has been little visible sign of tension over race, people of African heritage make up the poorest section of society.

An attempt to create a national law to establish quotas to address this inequality has once again been delayed in the Brazilian Congress, because of a failure to reach a consensus.

Some legislators are arguing that the best way to tackle inequality would be to use social rather than racial criteria in setting targets.

As the BBC News reported last year, some Afro-Brazilian models are upset at the apparent racism in their country’s fashion industry. "In a fashion show it is practically impossible," attest one model.

Image- BBC News
Online Sources- BBC News, The Latin Americanist