Rick Owens Step Team: Diversity or Gimmick?

Rick Owens’ spring 2014 runway show is the hot topic of the moment, igniting discussions on race, body image and fashion’s questionable genuineness when it comes to interest in offstream cultures. The 51-year-old designer presented during Paris Fashion Week on Thursday with a lively runway step show performance. A number of full-figured brown women stomped their way down the catwalk, clapping and slapping in formation whilst sporting that iconic stepper’s “grit face,” for a crowd of guests who have probably never seen or heard about this historical dance form. The question is: Was this runway performance a push for diversity or was it simply just a gimmick?

Instagram via Fashion Bomb Daily

Owens, like many other high-fashion designers, has been criticized for never casting a fair number of non-white models — particularly black models. With his latest presentation, many are now applauding him for “sticking it” to the fashion elite and politics. However, there are some folks who claim Owens is pulling a “Miley,” using black culture as an accessory (no pun intended) or just for pure amusement. Check the discussions across the web below:

“Eroding American politics and Fashion!” – Facebook user via Style.com

“Great job! So glad to see diversity on the runway!!!” – Necole Bitchie commenter

“This is far from art, but a blatant middle finger to Bethanne Hardison, Iman and Naomi’s complaints about the lack of diversity on the runway. THIS is how he sees black women’s beauty?! Really!!!? We are not attractive to him, but a schtick for amusement. ” – Fashionista commenter

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I think a lot of these fashion designers find it easy to separate themselves from others by just slapping on a “I support [insert any minority group here] ” on a collection or campaign and consumers just go gaga. Maybe I’m a cynic. Nope, I’ve just witnessed way too many bullshit moves in fashion to be a believer. For one, the clothes were not the least bit flattering on the curvy full-figured women donning them. Was this step show an afterthought?  But of course, no one is talking about the clothes, the buzz is all about the step show.

In this video, Owens admits that he’s not super privy to art of stepping and that we should Google it — as if it is some new phenomenon. It’s interesting how invisible the black culture is when it comes to mainstream knowledge. Style.com wrote their review stating, “Owens and his people worked with stepping teams from four sororities—Washington Divas, Soul Steppers, The Momentums, The Zetas.” How hard is it to do a two-minute research to learn that the only sorority who participated is “The Zetas” (or Zeta Phi Beta to be exactly correct) and that the others mentioned are just teams? It’s basic facts like these, that get overlooked time and time again.  Style.com was not the only website dishing out ignorance; many other sites wrote headlines about the “amateur models” and “angry faces.” It’s understandable if the average reader is not accustomed to anything beyond their front gate but it’s insane the amount of media journalists who are so trapped in their own bubble. To arrogantly state that the dancers looked angry and disturbing, without doing any research on the culture of step dance is just beyond me.

I can’t speak for Owens with it comes to the true, rather sincere, intentions of a step dance runway show. However, it is a good thing that the mainstream world is getting a taste of something new. People will research, people will learn.  I  just pray stepping won’t become the new “twerking” epidemic. Read what the New York Times had to say about that “low-income African-American dance;” it’s a doozy.

Watch Rick Owens’ spring 2014 runway show below: