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From writing bitter comments about tanner models, ‘consuming Fair and Lovely’ to ‘not wearing orange because it makes you look dark’ this obsession with fair skin is unhealthy and toxic. Brands and companies respond to customer demand which is why they’re so bold in their bias towards ‘lighter models’. It’s high time that we as customers become more aware of the things happening around us as well as the messaging brands are sending out to us.
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INSTEP analysis
This past week, a successful model in Pakistan came forward with a story that is shocking not because it’s the first time it’s been heard, but because it should have been heard years ago. Musk Kalem has worked with almost all the leading brands but his Instagram post made some people realize how unpleasant his experiences have been while working. She wrote that she was subjected to brands who wanted to whiten her and change her skin tone because she didn’t fit their beautiful, commercial mold for the lawn. She doesn’t want to be “proper” anymore.
And why should he? Not only does this make him a victim of color, it is also highly insulting and morally wrong to do this to the talent involved in the shoot.
Racism, for the uninitiated, is discrimination against people of dark complexion, usually among people of the same racial or ethnic group. It’s insulting because as a brand it’s your duty to hire a model knowing what their skin tone is and proceed to change it to what they look like. Born is not good enough. It is morally wrong because photo shopping or altering important parts of one’s identity is unethical.
It’s no secret that colonialism still has lingering effects on the way we see the world, but it’s common to hear that colorism in the fashion industry is as evident as models being told to be “Lahoris.” have problems with summer lawn models” or “brands can’t afford to get hateful comments on luxury collections” or because “we need a beautiful feel for the shoot”. That Musk wrote.
The problem is deeper and wider than we realize. Instep spoke to makeup artist Fatima Nasir who reiterated that brands that require makeup artists to lighten the model’s complexion. “It happens often in Lahore but luckily I don’t get clients like that very often. There are brands like Generation, Elan, Khadi, Zara Shahjahan, Beach Tree, Sana Safinaz and Al Kareem who like to use black models and are quite comfortable. .Being the face of their brand, I get to work with brands that hire tan models and ask me to make the model white. I try to convey that with makeup One can’t change color, they look shy and yet they ask me to put foundation on their hands and feet. Embarrassing for us and humiliating for the model.”
Hussain Rehar, a brand new designer from Lahore, is very clear about where he stands with casting models. “I appreciate my skin tone and would never change a model’s skin tone even for a really experimental shoot.”
It’s good to see models, makeup artists and designers taking a stand against this issue. It’s action from within the industry that can help move it in the right direction, even if it takes a long time. The responsibility rests heavily on people because they are the ones who continue to let these thoughts dictate their buying and selling patterns and daily actions.
From writing scathing comments about tanner models to ‘using fair and lovely’ to ‘don’t wear orange because it makes you look dark’ this obsession with clear skin is unhealthy and toxic. Brands and companies respond to customer demand which is why they are so bold in their bias towards ‘lighter models’. It’s time for us as consumers to tune in to what’s happening around us as well as the messaging brands are sending us.
We also need to hold our celebrities and influencers to the same standard with their endorsements. When beauty stereotypes are reinforced by our stars, it exacerbates the problem rather than solving it. Not looking too far, our neighbors in India have a long history of similar pigmentation where several of their actors, including Shah Rukh Khan and Sonam Kapoor, have endorsed fairness creams. However, some are more responsible about their influence and are promoting the ‘dark is beautiful’ campaign.
From Nandita Das to Nawazuddin Siddiqui and even Kangana Ranaut, everyone has spoken out against dark skin prejudice. While Kangana has refused to endorse the fairness cream brand, Abhay Deol has shamed Bollywood celebrities for naming and endorsing fairness products.
Locally, we have Fawad Khan and Sajal Ali endorsing Fair and Lovely, both of which have received rave reviews. Recently, Maura Hussain has been endorsing the brand and her following is clearly and rightly quite disappointed. While she defends herself by saying that the cream’s main purpose is not fairness and that it is a BB cream… hence a makeup product, the product packaging itself says that the cream is for an ‘instant fair look’. is The problem of product endorsements like this in our society is very serious and can affect little girls very negatively because like models on sets they hear the same things growing up – that being dark is hard. . When they look up to a celebrity, associate themselves with the same idea, it makes them more insecure about themselves. Stars should be more particular about what they name themselves and as partners, consumers or even fans, we shouldn’t let it slide.
Overall, there are glimmers of hope and a slow march forward but for real behavioral change, more women (and men) need to take ownership of the fashion industry and how it is advertised and collectively As the saying goes – darkness is beautiful.
