Anna does Asia

Shot by Steven Meisel and styled by none other than Grace Coddington for US Vogue's December 2010 issue, the fashion shoot is supposed to be a modern take on a portrait Cecil Beaton shot for Vogue in 1948.
With the statement 'A new crop of models from China, Japan, and South Korea is redefining traditional concepts of beauty', it features 8 top Asian models of today: Du Juan, Liu Wen, Bonnie Chen, Lily Zhi, Hyoni Kang, So Young Kang, Lee Hyun Yi and Tao Okamoto.

As the fashion story is outside Vogue's 'norm', it has, of course, caused controversy. Yawn.

excerpt from the Telegraph UK:

"Traditional concepts of beauty where, exactly?' asks Disgrasian on The Huffington Post, 'because there are plenty of places in the world where, traditionally speaking, Asian women have long been considered beautiful. Like in, um, Asia, for example?"

Criticism has been fuelled by a feeling that Vogue lumped all the girls into one shoot together rather than giving any of them the importance they suggest in their own editorial, in the form of a bigger story, or even a cover.

"I do sincerely hope that American Vogue will continue to use Asian models, and that this is not some 'flash in the pan trend" comments JP on Models.com. "After all, American Vogue has never featured an Asian model on its cover, and I can't remember the last time I saw a single Asian girl story in the magazine."

Another disgruntled reader whose username is SS concurs: "What a joke. TWO pages? Why isn't there a full-on editorial or a cover?"

Whether or not Anna is intending to feature more Asians in Vogue in the next forseeable future is anybody's guess. In the meantime, stop fucking complaining and just admire these Asian beauties. Fashion is F-I-C-K-L-E and you should all know that by now. In the words of that old wise sage Heidi Klum, 'In fashion, one day you're IN, and the next day you're OUT'

 The Cecil Beaton original featuring models wearing Charles James gowns

Vogue, 1948