Is the Fashion Runway Racist?

While the choice made by Italian Vogue highlights a need for change and diversification, it also underscores a larger question: why is such an issue only now being published?

Asked about the relative infrequency with which black models are booked, Sozzani said, "I think this is a fault of the agencies and not the designers. The white girls sell more, so you only ever find blond, blue-eyed girls. They don't dedicate enough time to scout black girls."

Related

Is Hollywood Whitewashing Ethnic Roles?

D-List Rappers Find Cache & Cash Abroad

Skinny Models Out, Plus-Size In?

Sozzani added that it is not a low demand, but a low supply that's to blame. "Naomi [Campbell] has been on the market for 20 years, and everybody likes her," she said. "It's not that fashion doesn't like this look."

Musto took a different approach.

"I blame the editorial, the people who run the fashion magazines," he said. "They can call the shots."

And they do. American Vogue has had just 34 black women, most of them models, on its cover in its 116-year history. When Jennifer Hudson, the singer and actress from "Dreamgirls" graced its cover last year for Vogue's "Power" issue, she was only the third black celebrity to be on the cover. Musto said the magazine treated it as "a big noble gesture."

Vogue also received scrutiny for its April 2008 cover featuring white supermodel Gisele Bündchen together with black NBA star LeBron James -- the first black man to make Vogue's cover -- in a pose that some critics called racist.

But American Vogue is not taking the criticism lying down. In its July issue, released in conjunction with the historic Italian Vogue, it will feature a six-page spread, focusing on racism in the fashion industry. The article will highlight the careers of three up-and-coming black models, Chanel Iman, Arlenis Sosa and Dunn, who is also featured in Italian Vogue.

Patrick O'Connell, director of communications for Vogue, told ABCNews.com, "American Vogue is taking the issue very seriously."