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Bevy of White Runway Models Walk to Beyoncé’s ‘Formation’ at Australia Fashion Week

By Nia Porter and Adele Chapin
Photo: Stefan Gosatti/Getty Images

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We're two days into Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia, and there's already been a Hadid sighting and some cringe-worthy moments noticed by folks on social media. Actually, those two things happened simultaneously today, as Hadid and a bevy of white models walked down the runway to Beyoncé's song "Formation" to close Aussie label Misha Collection's show.

Yahoo Style spotted the video of the Misha Collection finale on IMG's Instagram page, along with comments questioning why that song would ever be used for what seems to be a show without a single model of color.

You know, the song that Essence called "wholly and undeniable a tribute to Blackness—particularly Black girl power." Or as Allison P. Davis wrote on The Cut: "This song, and its message, belongs to black people."

@BellaHadid closes the @MishaCollection show #IMGStars #MBFWA #IMGModelsAustralia

A video posted by IMGmodels (@imgmodels) on

Here are a few comments from IMG's Instagram post:

— "When they play formation with all white models"

— "vomit white people belittling the meaning behind formation"

— "How you gonna use black songs but not black people smh"

— "why are they walking to formation? not one black model or POC in sight."

— "Love their stuff but where is the variation in skin colours for their models"

— "entirely white cast walking to formation I DIEEEEEEEE!!!!!"

As we know from The Fashion Spot's semiannual diversity reports, international runways are none too diverse. The problem seems to be even more pronounced in Australia, with Buzzfeed reporting in 2013 that only one single black model walked down the runway at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia. Of course, the song "Formation" can be enjoyed by people of all races. But given fashion’s longstanding problem with representation, the contrast between Beyonce’s anthem and the characteristically undiverse runway was all too obvious to plenty of fashion fans, wanting more sensitivity from designers.

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