Fashion is not frivolous. It’s a multi-billion dollar industry that employs millions of people globally. Fashion is art. Even in protest, once we shut down art, society crumbles. Fashion can make a statement and there are far fewer platforms that attract more eyeballs than New York’s international fashion week.
I want more Americans (that can afford it — that’s another issue) to have passports and to encourage cultural exchanges that will lead to less insular thinking or misunderstandings. I think it’s important to put a brown girl’s point of view on this.
I’ve spent this past week at the Barceló Bávaro Beach Resort in the Dominican Republic on a press trip researching for an upcoming story. I must admit, I had initial trepidations about going there; they quickly dissolved as soon as I was greeted by the many smiling and kind Dominican faces at the airport. The DR is a beautiful country, and from my previous experiences in Cabrera, and recent experience in Punta Cana / Bávaro, filled with kind hearted people. However, much like the US, it has a history scarred with systematic racism. Much like the US, it continues today, however, it’s blatantly enforced by the government.
