Supermodel, Joan Smalls covers the latest Elle Magazine January 2014 issue.

Gracing the cover in Givenchy and photographed by Michael Thompson, Smalls looks like perfection on her first ever cover for the magazine. It’s rare for American magazines such as Elle to feature a supermodel on the cover, and unfortunately, a black model is even more rare. We couldn’t think of a more fitting face to feature in Elle’s first spread of the year.

In the spread, Smalls touches on these challenges with race within the fashion industry:

“There are people in the industry who are advocates, who support diversity. And there are people who do not. I don’t get it. Beauty is universal. These doors have to open.”

..Here’s hoping that they do! Check out more of the interview on Elle.com!

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