FASHION: Puerto Rican model Joan Smalls on the cover of the latest VOGUE Australia

The latest issue of Vogue Australia features Puerto Rican Joan Smalls on the cover and a fashion editorial with Melbourne model Shanina Shaik, of Pakistani, Saudi Arabian and Lithuanian heritage. Smalls is the first model of color featured on Vogue Australia's cover since Samantha Harris, who is Aboriginal, in June 2010.

"Joan is the No 2 model in the world rankings, after Lara Stone, so she's clearly hot," said Kirstie Clements, editor-in-chief of Vogue Australia. "We had also shot Shanina, who is a star on the rise, so we put them in the same issue to make a general statement about model diversity. We had noticed that the catwalks feature more women of different ethnic backgrounds - Chinese, African, Indian - than ever before."

{Source}