Vogue Firsts: Saved from the Cutting-room Floor

GIRLS ON THE SIDE Strapping young lady Noting that there are too many skinny white models in fashion magazines is like saying the line at Starbucks is too long: It's obvious, it sucks, and unless you're Anna Wintour, there's not much to be done. So thank the glossy gods that Vogue has finally done something about it by putting out its first ever Black Issue. Though it's a small step in the right direction, Franca Sozzani and her pioneering team at Vogue Italy have done a supremely laudable thing in budging the monotonous Ruska-princess paradigm that the fashion industry seems so loath to abandon.

It has been said that Anna and her crack team at American Vogue were so averse to the idea of doing an all-black issue that they tried to come up with several alternatives, none of which were ultimately successful. Luckily, RadarOnline.com insurgents were there to sift around the cutting-room floor to catch some of their fruitless handiwork!