Ariel Binns is cute, smart, outgoing 6-year-old model. And she is getting jobs because she looks remarkably like first daughter Sasha Obama. This similarity has not gone unnoticed by the fashion industry. The first-grader and model Tyra Banks were cast by Harper's Bazaar magazine in a photo showing a Black family in the White House. I wonder where they got that idea? In the photo the child model from Brooklyn, New York was peeking out from under a big wooden desk.
Yes, the fashion world is realizing that there is noting like a dynamic first family to boost sales. The fashion market is finally waking up to the fact that Black is beautiful. Branding expert David Rogers predicts Black models will play a more prominent role in fashion photography as a direct result of the Obamas. At Wilhelmina Kids, a modeling agency in New York for kids and teens (which represents Ariel Binns), agents say there is increased demand for first daughter look-alikes.
The public loves the Obama girls and they are definitely marketable. After the first daughters appeared in their J.Crew outfits on Inauguration Day, the company's Web site got so many hits, it crashed.
The most visible and most exciting family in America is a beautiful Black family and the fashion industry is looking for those kinds of images. And to the surprise of the industry a lot of Americans who don’t necessarily look like them want to identify and find some sort of connection with this family.
Of course in everything there is a downside. First Lady Michelle Obama was not happy when toy manufacturer Ty Inc. came out with Black dolls named Sweet Sasha and Marvelous Malia even though the company said the dolls did not look like the Obama girls. Many famous families face similar problems and don’t want their children exposed to the public, because once the child is exposed to the public image, because then they could become owned and could be used in many different and negative ways. It also takes away from the child growing up is a relatively normal way.
And yet the celebrity of Sasha and Malia has a positive effect by presenting a positive and prominent image of young Black girls and Black children in general. And it could take diversity in the fashion industry to a whole new level.
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