WARDROBE: Out of fashion? Not for much longer.

The panelists





















Photographer Baron Claiborne and Iman
















The sold-out audience

A gathering windstorm of press (features in Metro, Women's Wear Daily, the Guardian and the New York Times, to name a few) and public statements (read Vivienne Westwood's thoughts on the topic here) surrounding the lack of diversity on the runway came to a head last night at the New York Public Library where Bethann Hardison moderated her open forum discussion on the issue last night. Tracy Reese, casting agent James Scully, stylist Lori Goldstein, and model agent David Ralph spoke on the panel while Iman, Vera Wang, Teri Agins, Robin Givhan and many other fashion luminaries sat in the audience. Having followed the current incarnation of this dialogue from its beginning in September, the aspect that strikes us the most is the idea of the starting point. After having sporadic, busy periods in the 70s (Mounia, Alva Chin, Pat Cleveland, etc.), 80s (Iman, Beverly Johnson, etc) and 90s (Beverly Peele, Naomi Campbell, Veronica Webb, Tyra Banks, etc.), "it's hard to except that [the work] was just taken away from us," Hardison said last night. So what happened? Why have the last ten years been so especially dry for black models? Scully attributes the shift to Prada, an industry leader, and its use of increasingly younger, faceless, white girls who "just act as hangers for the clothes." Meanwhile, at a smaller open forum on the subject held in September, an agent observed that things changed for black models because there weren't as many black designers (think Stephen Burrows) championing them. And yet another insider speculates that the problems began when Hardison, a principal voice for black models, shut down her agency in the 90s. The contrasting theories only prove how layered and complex the issue is. Not that the solution is as convoluted. Hardison's next plan of action is to meet with CFDA head Diane von Furstenberg. Sending letters to the modeling agencies (many of which are about to decide which models they'll pitch to designers for the next runway season) might not be a bad idea either. She also noted that there is another powerful woman in fashion who has the influence to change it all, if she really wanted to. Given the amount of media attention the issue has received lately, we're guessing the runway should look more colorful during the fall collections in January. Read full accounts of the event at Jezebel and The Fashion Bomb.