Italian Vogue Does All Black Issue

[Number23]

From the NY Times:

(snip)

"Conspicuous by Their Presence"

"RACIAL prejudice in the fashion industry has long persisted because of tokenism and lookism. “We already have our black girl,” says a designer to a fashion-show casting agent, declining to see others. Or: “She doesn’t have the right look.” Laziness, paranoia and pedantry may also have something to do with the failure to hire black models for shows and magazine features in any meaningful number, but, hey, that’s just a guess.

...For the July issue of Italian Vogue, Mr. Meisel has photographed only black models. In a reverse of the general pattern of fashion magazines, all the faces are black, and all the feature topics are related to black women in the arts and entertainment. Mr. Meisel was given roughly 100 pages for his pictures. The issue will be on European newsstands next Thursday and in the United States soon after."

Article here - http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/19/fashion/19BLACK.html

Why does it take a "special" issue of Vogue to feature these stunning, gorgeous women?