Joan Smalls Covers ELLE January 2014, Talks About Lack of Diversity

Joan on ELLE – Top model Joan Smalls covers the January issue of ELLE US. shining in a look from Givenchy’s spring-summer 2014 collection. Despite being one of the leading faces in fashion and a spokesperson for Estee Lauder, Joan admits that some in the industry don’t embrace diversity when it comes to models. “People hide behind the word aesthetic. They say, ‘Well, it’s just that designer’s aesthetic.’ But when you see 18 seasons in a row and not one single model outside a certain skin color…? There are people in the industry who are advocates, who support diversity.  And there are people who do not.  I don’t get it.  Beauty is universal. These doors have to open,” the model tells ELLE.

Michael Thompson photographed Joan for the new issue which hits newsstands on December 17th. Read more quotes on ELLE.com