Le Dernier Cri: The most diverse industry on Earth

There is no industry more diverse and more tolerant than the fashion industry. It is tolerant of all different things: skin color, age, gender, religion, country of origin, ideas and sexual orientation. Nearly everything under the sun could be interpreted in a way that would be accepted in the fashion industry. \nThis idea of acceptance and tolerance in turn spurs the people of the fashion industry to be one of the most, if not the most, accepting group of people out there. With so many people from every country, every skin color, every sexual orientation, every walk of life all focused on the same thing in one industry, it is hard not to just accept people for who they are.\nPerhaps the difference that the industry accepts on such a wider scale than the rest of the world is homosexuality. Nearly every male designer is gay; the only heterosexual male designers who come to mind are Oscar de la Renta and Ralph Lauren, and I had to really think about it for a few days before I came up with them. It is a running joke on this season of “Project Runway” that there was only one straight male designer, but at the same time, his work was held to the same standard as every other designer’s work. The fashion industry judges talent and ideas, not a designer’s personal lifestyle and decisions.\nThe industry is also accepting of almost any designer’s ideas in the name of art. As long as a collection has artistic value, it is seen as a success. People certainly have their individual opinions, and some collections are not the most marketable to the mainstream by any means, but most have a very high artistic value. Any industry that applauds sending crazy and totally unwearable outfits down the runway in the name of art has to be very tolerant and accepting.\nThe industry also accpets people of all different nationalities. With the month-long, world wide celebration of ideas that is Fashion Week in New York, London, Paris and Milan, celebrities, models, designers, buyers, magazine editors and customers from all over the world come together to weigh in on designer’s newest collections. These people do not see color or race, they only see art and ideas. \nThere are many celebrities of different races and from different countries who are fashion powerhouses. Selma Hayek, Halle Berry, Beyonce and Penelope Cruz are just a few of the women who dominate the fashion industry in Hollywood. Jay-Z, P. Diddy, Terrence Howard and Javier Garcia are all diverse men who always look fashionable and put-together. \nThe models in the fashion world are a similar story. Heidi Klum, Gisele Bundchen, Tyra Banks and Naomi Campbell , some of the biggest supermodels working today, form a very diverse group of ladies, hailing from three different continents and coming from completely different cultures.\nThis multi-billion dollar industry is one of the most tolerant, accepting and diverse collections of people one could ever hope to find. It truly is a business that looks at talent and artistic value rather than petty and arbitrary details. This high level of acceptance makes me proud to be a (very, very small) part of the most progressive, diverse and tolerant industry on Earth.