Vogue Netherlands 'Blackface' Editorial Tribute To Marc Jacobs Raises Eyebrows (PICTURES) | HuffPost Life

Hey Vogue, Instead of Using ‘Blackface' Makeup, Why Not Just Use Black Models?

Sara C Nelson — Huffington Post UK

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The May 2013 edition of Vogue Netherlands has run an editorial honouring designer Marc Jacobs’s work with Louis Vuitton.

So far so Vogue, but puzzlingly, the accompanying spread features a white model in “blackface” make-up.

Entitled “Heritage Heroes”, the piece talks of Jacobs’s “tribal influences” in his designs, as well as the styles of Africa-American cultural icons Grace Jones and Josephine Baker.

The Vogue Netherlands spread features model Querelle Jansen in 'blackface' makeup

The magazine hence seems to have found it fitting to paint model Querelle Jansen’s face black for the shoot and photograph her in a dark, afro wig.

As Fashionista points out: “A couple of alternative ideas: Use a model who already looks something like Grace Jones or Josephine Baker without facepaint.

SEE ALSO: Victoria's Secret Apologises For 'Racist' Native American Headdress... After No Doubt Pulls Video

“Or just, you know, don’t paint a white person’s face black ever?”

A fair point, and it’s also worth remembering the ongoing controversy over a traditional Dutch Christmas character – “Zwarte Piet” or Black Pete, who is pageboy helper to Santa Claus.

Zwarte Piet or 'Black Pete' as he is known, helps St Nicholas or Sinterklaas

Together with Santa (or “Sinterklaas”), Zwarte Piet helps deliver Christmas gifts and sweets to those children who have been "good." If you've been bad, the legend says that Black Pete will kidnap you in his sack and take you back to Spain.

The Vogue shoot is just one of several attempts to portray African culture that fashion mags have bungled: Numero whipped up a controversial blackface shoot this past February and French Vogue shot a similarly-styled editorial back in 2009.

Check out the full editorial -- which lays out the controversy in black and white -- over at The Fashion Spot. What do you think of such "blackface" editorials?

Huffington Post UK’s request for comment from Netherlands Vogue has yet to be responded to.

Magazine Covers That Got People Talking

Vogue, April 2008 (01 of21)

Vogue's April 2008 shape issue featured NBA star LeBron James and Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen in a way that many believed perpetuated negative racial stereotypes about African American men. LeBron's forceful pose seemed to depict 'King Kong-like' aggression while Bundchen was depicted as a damsel in distress. (Courtesy photo)

Cosmopolitan, February 2012 (02 of21)

Cosmopolitan magazine's choice of then 17-year-old Dakota Fanning for the cover of their February issue caused controversy due to the nature of the magazine's sex-related headlines and the actress's young age.Although the magazine received a lot of heat for the cover, a spokesperson for the magazine told Fox News: "Dakota, who turns 18 this month, is a mature, fearless young woman and we are proud to honor her as our Fun Fearless Female of the year." (Courtesy photo)

Dossier Magazine, 2011 (03 of21)

Famed androgynous male model Andre Pejic caused a stir when he posed topless for Dossier magazine. The nature of the cover was so controversial that Barnes and Nobles censored the cover as they would for a nudie magazine because they were worried that customers would mistake Pejic for a woman. (Courtesy photo)

Sports Illustrated, 2012 (04 of21)

Kate Upton has been making a splash this year, appearing naked in several magazines and as one of Terry Richardson's favorite models. Her rise to fame has not been without controversy, though, having also been the target of attacks from 'thinspiration' sites calling her 'fat.' However, this cover will stand out as the glossy that started it all. (Courtesy photo)

V Magazine, September 2011(05 of21)

The cover of V Magazine's September 2011 issue was intended to pay homage to Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar's 'Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!" However, many readers were concerned that it was demeaning to supermodel Naomi Campbell and that it glamorized sexual violence. (Courtesy photo)

Vanity Fair, August 1991 (06 of21)

It's hard to remember a time when celebrities didn't pose naked while pregnant on covers of magazines. However, that time existed and we have Demi Moore to thank for being the first, posing nude while 7 months pregnant on the cover of Vanity Fair. The issue caused a whole slew of controversy and there were stories of the magazine being sold in paper bags, like porno magazines. However, a year later Moore posed nude on another cover for the magazine covered in body paint as a commemoration to this infamous cover. (Courtesy photo)

Vanity Fair, March 2010 (07 of21)

Vanity Fair's March 2010 'Young Hollywood' edition raised brows when all of the celebs they chose for their issue were thin and white. Although all of the young actresses they chose did have big movies released in 2010, many wondered if there were no actors of color who could have been featured in the magazine? (Courtesy photo)

Grazia Magazine, May 2011(08 of21)

After a slew of accusations, 'Grazia' magazine admitted to heavily Photoshopping a picture of the Duchess of Cambridge at the royal wedding in April, whittling down her waist and copy-pasting her left arm over to replace her right, which was holding Prince William's hand. (Courtesy photo)

Vogue Italia, June 2011(09 of21)

Vogue Italia's plus-sized edition raised eyebrows not only for the magazine's choice of 'curvier' instead of rail-thin models, but because of the scintillating nature of the pictures inside the magazine. Shot by Steven Meisel and styled by Edward Enninful, the models are photographed in various states of undress, making it slightly NSFW.(Courtesy photo)

Flaunt Magazine, 2011(10 of21)

The American monthly magazine made two covers of their October issue, one featuring James Franco's face and one featuring his butt. Needless to say, this NSFW magazine cover is controversial because of its bumtastic nature. (Courtesy photo)

Teen Vogue, November 2010(11 of21)

Jourdan Dunn and Chanel Iman pose happily on the cover of Teen Vogue's November 2010 issue, however the magazine did not know that Dunn was pregnant until after the photo shoot. The 19-year-old model reveals her pregnancy in the magazine, and because Teen Vogue decided not to pull the cover, many advocates against teen pregnancy were concerned about the message that the magazine was sending to its teen readers. (Courtesy photo)

W Magazine, November 2010 (12 of21)

When Kim Kardashian appears in the buff for any magazine, it's always controversial. In this case, the celeb posed for W Magazine's November 2010 cover with her lady bits covered by a tagline by artist Barbara Kruger. Additionally and perhaps more controversial were the outtakes of this shoot in which Kardashian is naked and dipped in silver paint. (Courtesy photo)

W Magazine, November 2011(13 of21)

W Magazine commissioned Chinese dissident and world-famous artist Ai Wei Wei for one of its November 2011, art issue covers. The cover features model Sui He recreating the scene of the artist's violent arrest. (Courtesy photo)

W Magazine, November 2009 (14 of21)

Then 47-year-old actress Demi Moore appeared on the November 2009 cover of W Magazine looking a little too thin. The actress dismissed claims that her photo had been Photoshopped (especially in the hip area) saying that she was just very thin. (Courtesy photo)

Vogue, March 2012(15 of21)

The British singer looked amazing on the cover of Vogue's March 2012 issue, so amazing that some people thought the Grammy winning songstress looked Photoshopped. The actress was drawn into controversy when fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld called her "a little too fat," however, she dismissed the comments in the pages of this edition of Vogue. (Courtesy photo)

New York Magazine, February 2008 (16 of21)

The always controversial Lindsay Lohan graced the February 2008 cover of New York Magazine, recreating Marilyn Monroe's 'The Last Sitting' photography session of 1962. Since Lohan's spread featured the troubled young actress in various stages of undress and featured near-explicit nudity, the issue garnered a lot of attention. (Courtesy photo)

Rolling Stone, April 1999(17 of21)

Before the pop star became the center of a paparazzi frenzy (remember head-shaving, K-Fed, etc.), Britney Spears was a 'Teen Queen.' At least that's what Rolling Stone dubbed her in their April 1999 issue which featured the then seventeen-year-old Spears in lingerie and holding a Tellytubby. In 1999, the young singer was already developing into a sex symbol, but many believed that this cover was a little too mature for a 17 year-old. (Courtesy photo)

Purple Magazine, February 2010 (18 of21)

Lindsay Lohan was photographed by the ever controversial Terry Richardson for Purple Magazine in 2010. Apart from the fact that the subject is Lindsay Lohan, the cover was controversial because she was posed in a Christ-like pose, with a crown of thorns adorning her head. (Courtesy photo)

Q Magazine, 2010(19 of21)

Lady Gaga always knows how to cause a scene and this magazine cover was no exception. During a time when there were rabid rumors about Gaga being a man, she decided to confront the issue directly by wearing a strap-on for her photo shoot. (credit:Courtesy)

Vogue Hommes International, Fall/Winter 2012(20 of21)

Male model Marlon Teixeira's embrace of Stephanie Seymour is striking -- is she being choked? And is that ever OK? (Courtesy photo)

Dazed & Confused, September 2012(21 of21)

The British magazine reported that the controversial cover, with rapper Azealia Banks blowing up a condom, had been banned in seven countries before it was even released! (credit:Courtesy)

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