Models Protest Balenciaga Fashion Show: 'Black Models Matter'

Models protested outside of Balenciaga's Paris Fashion Week show March 5 holding signs with the message "Black Models Matter" written in French.

According to a series of posts on model Indi Irvin's (pictured above) Instagram feed, the protestors stood topless just outside of the show to call out the fashion industry for their mostly Caucasian rosters. Other signs read, "Make Fashion Diverse Again," and "Models Speak Up."

Balenciaga creative director Demna Gvasalia was slammed last year for only casting white models in his show. This year's lineup was slightly improved, using four models of color for the 47 looks, BET reports.

Irvin clarified that this isn't just about Balenciaga, but the label's small improvement this year wasn't enough. "I just kinda chose a show that was big enough to grab the attention to the cause," she explained. "But looking back, Balenciaga had [four out of 47]? Ok! I protest[ed] the right one!!"

Irvin, who has worked for Nike and Yeezy in the past, continued:

The press and public, I believed, reacted beautifully during our riot. So many well wishes and right on's! But you can be sure the police were not so happy with us and the crowd went wild as tensions heated. In Paris, to protest you must get permission from the Police days before and they have to approve. Also nudity is not [allowed]. But I'm all about breaking the rules esp. when it comes to nipple equality and women and culture rights!!!2017 was a big year not only politically but also for my modeling career as it was my first season in the European market. It is very different here compared to the NYC I'm used to. ... I have never seen another model protest in this way so I felt obligated to make a stand.

Cosmopolitan.com reached out to Balenciaga for comment and will update this post if they respond.

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