Popular fashion magazine, ELLE Germany, is facing criticism for a recent feature highlighting Black models.

The controversial feature piece in the magazine's November issue titled "Black Is Back."

Readers, fashion models and other professionals in the industry called out the magazine for its article for the magazine to treat Black people as a trend.

Instagram fashion blog Diet Prada said its ironic for the magazine to declare that “Black is back”, considering how ELLE Germany and other fashion publications have been complicit in denying visibility to Black models until recently.

"The issue, titled 'Back to Black', also features a white model on the cover," Diet Prada wrote on Instagram. "You can’t make this stuff up!"

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Not a good look, @ellegermany . For their November 2019 issue, the presumably white-led publication declares that “black is back”. Ironic when they, along with much of the fashion industry, have been complicit in denying visibility to black models until relatively recently. Oh, and apparently they can’t actually tell models apart. In the bottom middle, a picture of @naomichinwing is used in place of @iam_janaye . And @joansmalls has been around for a minute/hasn’t gone anywhere lmao. The issue, titled “Back to Black”, also features a white model on the cover. You can’t make this stuff up! • #elle #ellemagazine #ellegermany #naomichinwing #janayefurman #models #blackmodels #modelsofcolor #runway #fashionweek #fashionmonth #pfw #nyfw #mfw #lfw #paris #london #milan #nyc #wtf #fail #magazine #print #editorial #editor #editorinchief #media #sabinenedelchev #dietprada

A post shared by Diet Prada ™ (@diet_prada) on Oct 29, 2019 at 8:10am PDT

The publication apologized in a statement, saying the goal was to approach the color black from different angles.

“One of our focuses was to feature strong Black women who work as fashion models," Elle Germany editor-in-chief Sabine Nedelchev said. "In doing so, we were guilty of several errors [for] which we sincerely apologize."

Nedelchev said it was wrong to use the cover line "Black Is Back“, which could be misconstrued to mean that black individuals are some sort of fashion trend.

"This obviously was not our intention and we regret not being more sensitive to the possible misinterpretations," Nedelchev said.

ELLE Germany also misidentified model Naomi Chin Wing as Janaye Furman.

In response to the magazine's error, Furman posted an Instagram video of herself sipping tea, with the hashtag #blackisback.

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☕️???? #blackisback

A post shared by Janaye (@iam_janaye) on Oct 29, 2019 at 1:44pm PDT

Supermodel Naomi Campbell expressed her thoughts on Instagram, saying this is sad to see and highly insulting in every way.

"I’ve said countless of times, we are not a TREND," Campbell wrote. "We are here to STAY. It’s OK to celebrate models of color, but please do it in an ELEGANT and RESPECTFUL way.”

Campbell said she is willing to have a conversation to clarify the guidelines on diversity and it's very disappointing to see a Black model misidentified.

“It’s very important for a publication to be culturally sensitive and give credit where it’s due," she wrote. "We all need to unite on this matter.”

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Dear sabine nedelchev @ellegermany This makes me so sad to see this, @bethannhardison @the_real_iman and I are here if you are not clear on the guide lines of diversity.. your mistake it is highly insulting in every way, .. you go further to say that BACK TO BLACK, even if you meant the fashion it’s misleading on your headline and Type !! ! I’ve said countless of times we are not a TREND. We are here to STAY. It’s ok to celebrate models of color but please do it in an ELEGANT and RESPECTFUL way . I too in my career have seen pictures of others models called me just because of the color of our Skin, and recently seen many pictures of models of color being called being @adutakech .. do you know what it feels like to do the job ( @naomichinwing ) and not even be given the right name credit ? Very disappointing to say the least . If you would like a conversation to know how to have A diverse mind we are here to sit and accommodate . It’s very important for a publication to be culturally sensitive and give credit where it’s due . We all need to unite on this matter. -NAOMI. THANK YOU @diet_prada . #defendingmybabies ♥️

A post shared by Naomi Campbell (@naomi) on Oct 29, 2019 at 2:21pm PDT

"This has definitely been a learning experience for us and, again, we deeply regret any harm or hurt we have unwittingly caused," the magazine said.

Elle Germany

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