HAS THE "OBAMA EFFECT" COME TO BRYANT PARK?

Courtney, Marcus, Domonique and Shawn backstage at Duckie Brown.

This season we've seen a sprinkling of color on the runway but for the most part it's the same tokenism. Designers will say that their concept for this season was Victorian or a summer in Paris, giving them the shield to say : "whites only." It's sad that among the ranks of the many new great black male faces that now exist in New York still go unseen for the most part. The New York Times weighs in on the issue in article featuring several of our favs. Check it out...

IF YOU GOT IT, FLAUNT IT!!!

Flaunt Mag has just released a peek into their upcoming issues 6 page fashion spread – showcasing pieces from Prada’s avant-garde Fall/Winter ’08 collection.

The editorial features models Salieu Jalloh, Marcus Lloyd, Courtney Taylor, Sy Alassane and Anderson Noel, elegantly appointed in the most mouth-watering of the fashion houses current season.

Photographer:Kevin Amato

Style Director: Long Nguyen

SNEAK PEEK | BLEU MAG F/W '08 ISSUE

Here's your first look at Bleu Magazine's iconic BLACK BOYS ARE BEAUTIFUL issue.

"The Black Boys are Beautiful feature is a tribute and a reflection of the struggle black male models have faced on their long journey to being acknowledged in this fickle and superficial industry," says Antino Angel Crowley, Fashion Editor for Bleu Magazine.

The issue features three of the brightest new faces at RED models on the cover. Our faves, Shawn Sutton Marcus Lloyd & Dominique Hollington join five other of the hottest male models entering the industry today. Some of which have already made their mark - blazing the runways and print pages.

On stands October 7th.

photos: Johnny Rodriguez

fashion editor: Antino Angel Crowley

ARE RUNWAYS BECOMING LESS WHITE???

Marcus Lloyd, Arlenis Pena, and Ty Ogunkoya at 3.1 Phillip Lim

Runways are becoming more diverse, but not by much. Modeling agent Bethann Hardison told the New York Times, "The business was dry as a desert for a decade, and now you have Thom Browne, who makes clothes for skinny white boys, putting a very dark-skinned black boy in a show. That says a lot." However, George Brown, who owns modeling agency Red NYC, said, "We’re still stuck in tokenism. I thought this season, with [the all-black] Italian Vogue, we would see a more dramatic uptick. It didn’t bear fruit.” The Shophound has been tracking diversity quotients for each show, which seem to support Brown's sentiments. Minorities in Reem Acra's show, for example, included just two Asians and zero black models; minorities in Chris Han's show included two Asians and one black model.

VINTAGE SEAN JOHN | A RETROSPECTIVE

Sean John's triumphant return to the runways last season was captured in a vintage editorial for Vibe Magazine.... which draws upon some of the classic designs of the 50's & 60's. Here are some of the published pics from the depiction. It features Ibrahim Baaith, Wendell Lissimore, Salieu, Marcus Lloyd, Lawrence Annunziata and more.

PHOTOS: Kevin Amato


STYLIT: Memsor Kamarake