Ever since the demise of the supermodel in the early ’90s, the fashion industry has been stubbornly unwilling to make room for more than one black model per show. Other than the occasional star — Naomi Campbell, Liya Kebede and now Chanel Iman — black women go unrepresented.

So what happens if women of colour are not included in the conversation about beauty and femininity? What happens when those lighthearted stories about how to apply the latest shades in makeup never include examples of ebony skin? Or when the most influential designers say through their aesthetic choices that dark skin is not part of their vision? Audiences applaud and cheer the landmark diversity introduced on television by Ugly Betty and its fictional Mode magazine, but no one is objecting to the lack of diversity at real fashion magazines.

Some of the most enduring cultural images have come from the fashion industry. The black and white pictures of wavy-haired ladies in pumps defined the conservative and formal ’50s. The pictures of Twiggy with stick-straight hair and wearing a miniskirt call to mind the ’60s with their emphasis on youth and the sexual revolution. There is no better shorthand for the 1980s than the image of a woman with her hair teased high and shoulder pads bulking her up to the size of a linebacker.

Some of the most provocative statements about youth, sexuality and aging have been made in the name of fashion — Brooke Shields in her Calvins, Dove’s Real Women campaign. Those images endure in our memory and help us understand the world around us. And when whole groups of people are left out of the picture, our world view is equally diminished.

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