it's about time

The July 2008 all-black Vogue Italia has finally hit stands. I haven't picked it up yet, but scans of the Steven Meisel photographs are leaking out left and right. Here are a few of my favorite images:

Naomi Campbell

Sessilee Lopez

Jourdan Dunn

I'm thrilled to see so many black models featured, but I can't help but wonder what the ads will be like. All of the editorial was shot with black models, but I'm guessing that the ad campaigns will be the usual whitewash. Additionally, is this issue symptomatic of a true shift in the industry, or is it just a novelty? I don't want this to be a short-lived trend that makes us all feel good about ourselves, so that next month we can return to our usual behavior. Black history shouldn't require its own month to be considered relevant and black models shouldn't require their own specialty publication to be celebrated as great beauties.