On Friday, whilst we were all getting warmed up for London Fashion Week, Leomie Anderson was doing the same.

Except she wasn't checking the schedule and organising our invites like us, she was heading over to castings and fittings for the upcoming shows.

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Leomie Anderson walking for Ashish\'s S/S18 show at London Fashion Week

The Victoria's Secret veteran was seen walking at Emporio Armani, as well as Ashish and Hailey Baldwin's Adidas presentation.

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Leomie Anderson walks for Emporio Armani\'s S/S18 show at LFW

Though, there was one fitting that reportedly did not go quite so well. On Friday evening, the model Tweeted that she went to a fitting early that morning, only to wait around while others were fitted, only to eventually be turned away.

She said, 'Can't believe I went to a fitting for 8:40am, got put into a line with six white girls, watch their looks get selected then get told.'

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Anderson repeated this story in more depth on Women's Hour yesterday, explaining:

I was at the fitting for a show and the designer made us line up, and he made everybody else walk and found them an outfit - everybody except for me. I actually got sent home, even though I made my way to the fitting. I was there at 8.30 in the morning. I was waiting just like everybody else, I was the first model to be there, but I was the first model to be told to leave. Oh, 'we can't find a look for you right now you need to go'. That's what I was told at this fitting.

She went on to discuss how difficult it sometimes is even getting your make-up done backstage as a black model, noting that it was marginally better in London than in New York.

She also made the point that as a model of prominence in the industry, it is important to her to use her voice for good, in order to encourage other young models of colour not to give up on their ambitions and also to make sure they don't accept this kind of treatment from the industry.

When we spoke to model Pippa Christian about her difficulties with an afro in the industry, she mirrored Leomie's sentiment that, not only do plenty of professional hairdressers struggle with natural black hair, but many designers seem to have an almost quota-like approach of diversity on their runways too.

Though the runways seem increasingly diverse, there's obviously still so much to be done.

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Daisy Murray
Digital Fashion Editor

Daisy Murray is the Digital Fashion Editor at ELLE UK, spotlighting emerging designers, sustainable shopping, and celebrity style. Since joining in 2016 as an editorial intern, Daisy has run the gamut of fashion journalism - interviewing Molly Goddard backstage at London Fashion Week, investigating the power of androgynous dressing and celebrating the joys of vintage shopping.