Was J. Crew was completely out of line for this?

Twitter recently erupted in debate over this picture:

J. Crew..... girl.... y’all wrong. pic.twitter.com/M25MHbrb3L

— Daë Louise 💄💋 (@UnordinaryDae) November 9, 2017

Some put the blame on the Dominican model herself, wondering why she would allow the struggling retail brand to post this photo of her while others expressed that those complaining are biased because women of other races are allowed to rock "bed head" and messy styles:

Why she didn't speak up is my question. You aren't about to photograph me looking like that.

— Tiara Atari (@VictorianJedi) November 9, 2017

Then half y’all will preach natural is beautiful. Leave this woman alone her hair looks fine

— Joy (@JJAMBAU) November 10, 2017

Despite the brouhaha over the picture, it's unfortunately very common for models of color to have their beauty needs routinely ignored by hairstylists and makeup artists on set.

From makeup artists to be unprepared with foundation shades that suit dark skin tones to agencies discouraging models of color to wear their natural hair, models of color have a tougher time in the industry, especially black models.

The popular model, Ebonee Davis, has been very vocal about the need for representation in the beauty industry. In her popular TED Talk, inspired by her experiences with racism in the fashion industry she said:

 ‘To be born Black in America is to be born into a world that makes you feel inadequate before you can take your first step.’

 

She expands on being rejected from several jobs in an interview with Couveteur.

“It wasn’t until I decided to wear my hair natural that I realized the problem wasn’t me, it was the society that we live in. I didn’t realize that the fashion industry was just a microcosmic representation of the greater society that we live. The same treatment that I was getting at all of these agencies, getting turned down, was the same treatment that one might get when applying for any job as a Black person, or for school, or anything.”

 

Yes, natural hair is absolutely beautiful but knowing how fashion and beauty companies typically treat black models, it's not a stretch to conclude that the stylist on set most likely didn't care to put an effort into this model's hair.

As a Twitter user, @Drebae said, "Black hair isn't that hard to style!"

Black hair is not that hard to style. Whoever was in charge of hair and makeup truly didn’t give a damn about her even being featured. They didn’t even try. I see no product or moisture in her hair. I even see a spot of lint. OUTTA LINE https://t.co/LVNkeRSIM8

— Alluring Ivy✨ (@Drebae_) November 10, 2017

For a retail company with store sales that have been down for the past three years; dropping by 8% in 2016, following a 10% decrease the year before, you would think J.Crew would put in more effort. A mess.