 A black eye is not a fashion accessory. As CEO of a domestic abuse charity, I never in a million years thought I would find myself needing to make this point. But when I first saw Irina Shayk and others modelling black eyes on the catwalk as part of this year's London Fashion Week, I couldn't believe my own eyes. It made me feel quite sick, to be honest. There they were, models wearing make-up of cuts and bruises to set off Mowalola's latest collection. Was this a misguided awareness campaign, perhaps – fundraising for good causes? No, this couldn't be a message about domestic violence against women, I realised, because surely they would've consulted a domestic abuse charity, women's organisation or similar to get something so important just right – and I couldn't believe any would endorse this campaign. Vogue described it as 'tongue-in-cheek'. i-D called it 'an exquisite car crash' I hurriedly scanned the news and social media for the story and the outrage that I hoped would come pouring out in them. But do you know what? Nearly every single story I read quickly skipped past the make-up – spending most of their reports discussing who Irina is or isn't dating. Vogue described it as 'tongue-in-cheek'. i-D called it 'an exquisite car crash'. It was a stark reminder to me that this is the danger of normalising violence against women: it becomes less, and less newsworthy. I have the privilege of leading The Dash Charity, and I've championed change for women and girls for more than a decade. It makes me shiver to think what message these images are sending to teens (Picture: SplashNews.com) We're here to break the cycle of domestic abuse, so people in our local communities can feel stronger and safer from abuse. We support hundreds of people every year. But when black eyes are a fashion statement and){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
A black eye is not a fashion accessory.
As CEO of a domestic abuse charity, I never in a million years thought I would find myself needing to make this point.
But when I first saw Irina Shayk and others modelling black eyes on the catwalk as part of this year’s London Fashion Week, I couldn’t believe my own eyes.
It made me feel quite sick, to be honest.