Singer Kiana Valenciano, Miss Earth 2014 Jamie Herrell, and five other Filipinas were set to walk a show at Los Angeles Fashion Week. But the opportunity was taken away after they were blocked from entering backstage.
According to Kiana, one of the producers told them that no Filipinos were allowed; no other reason was given to them. This was despite the fact that they were models for designers Elie Madi, Rocky Gathercole, and Resty Lagare.
“It’s confusing that the designers Rocky Gathercole and Resty Lagare were Filipino, and they couldn’t have Filipino models,” Kiana said in a clip posted mom and manager Angeli Valenciano. Lagare and Gathercole have also presented collections in LA Fashion Week in the past.
The Filipinas were invited by For the Stars Fashion House, which hosts shows for Filipino designers. Even founder Jacob Meir was “puzzled” about what happened and just decided to forgo the show altogether.
Angeli also expressed her disappointment on Instagram, “[You] can call me a stage mom. But I am a mother and I am Filipina. And I am hurt. It was heartbreaking for me (as Kiana was excited) but moreso for the [six] other Filipinas who were there at the Macarthur already.” She also requested an explanation as to why they weren’t allowed to walk. “Was it a height issue? Then explain it kindly. We flew thousands of miles to participate in the fundraiser because Jacob and his partner Filipina Mildred Deang personally called us.”
Nevertheless, Kiana is still keeping her head up, saying, “This is just going to make us tougher. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”
As of writing, LA Fashion Week has not issued a statement regarding the incident.
It’s ironic how discrimination is still happening even in a time when people are calling for more diversity on the runways. This is proof that work needs to be done so that models of all shapes and skin color will be accepted in the fashion world.
[ABS-CBN News]
Photo by DJ Magbanua via Kiana Valenciano’s Instagram account
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