Supermodel Adut Akech has said Australia has a “lot of work to do” regarding diversity and inclusion in the fashion industry after Who Magazine published an interview with her and attached a picture of a different model.
According to Akech, a South Sudanese-Australian model, she had spoken to Who Magazine about how “people view refugees and people’s attitude to colour in general” as part of the feature.
However, when the interview was published, the magazine included a photo of another black model, Flavia Lazarus, who was wrongly identified as Akech.
Akech addressed the incident on social media, where she revealed she felt “very disrespected”.
“This has upset me, has made me angry, it has made me feel very disrespected and to me is unacceptable and inexcusable under any circumstances,” Akech wrote on Instagram. “Not only do I personally feel insulted and disrespected but I feel like my entire race has been disrespected too.”
“By this happening I feel like it defeated the purpose of what I stand for and spoke about.”
The 19-year-old model also said she believed the error would not have happened to a white model.
Revealing that she “knows that this doesn’t happen with white models,” the supermodel, who is in Melbourne for fashion week, added: “I want this to be somewhat of a wake-up call to people within the industry it’s not okay and you need to do better.
“Big publications need to make sure that they fact check things before publishing them especially when it’s real stories and interviews.”
In a statement shared on Instagram, Melbourne Fashion Week expressed its support for both Akech and Lazarus.
“We are extremely disappointed that a photo of one of our campaign models, Flavia Lazarus, was mistakenly printed instead of a photo of Adut,” the statement reads. “Both Adut and Flavia have expressed their disappointment and we support them. This error is unacceptable, and both Who Magazine and our public relations agency, Opr, have apologised.
“This is why it’s so important to continue conversations about diversity and inclusion.”
Melbourne Mayor Sally Capp also addressed the incident on social media, writing on Twitter that “respect for all people from all backgrounds is fundamental to our city and our culture” and that she will be meeting with Adut.
According to Akech, the magazine has reached out to her directly to apologise for the error.
In August, Akech was featured on three Vogue covers, for British Vogue, Vogue Germany and Vogue Japan, at the same time.
The opportunity was especially noteworthy because the covers were for the publication’s September issues, widely regarded as the most significant issue.
The Independent has contacted Who Magazine for comment.
