What was Vogue Italia’s 2008 issue featuring only Black models called?

Vogue Italia’s 2008 issue featuring only Black models was called The Black Issue.

Editor-in-chief Franca Sozzani created the special issue in response to the limited representation of Black models in mainstream fashion media. The issue appeared in July 2008 and featured photographs by Steven Meisel, with models including Naomi Campbell, Jourdan Dunn, and Liya Kebede.

The edition became one of Vogue Italia’s most discussed issues because it placed Black models on every page devoted to fashion imagery. It was also notable for being distributed in multiple versions with different covers, allowing several prominent models to headline the project.

The issue’s title is often paraphrased as “the Black models issue,” but its recognized name is The Black Issue. It is also sometimes confused with later Vogue diversity initiatives, which were separate editorial projects rather than this 2008 edition.