Suddenly, after several years of being at the bottom of the fashion heap, black models are back on top. In a big way.

Not only are they exclusively populating the pages of this month’s super-hyped Vogue Italia, Wintour & Co. also begrudgingly gave them some attention. At Milan’s Men’s Fashion Week, the designers of Dsquared used a group of models, led by Tyson Beckford, made up almost entirely of black men.

And rumor has it that Lanvin’s show next week has an “all-ethnic lineup.”

So much of what goes on in the fashion world, including the fashion modeling world — is about what’s in. And now, to a certain extent, black models are in again.

CONTINUED »