Claudia Schiffer sparks race row after posing as black woman

Supermodel Claudia Schiffer is at the centre of a race row over a photograph of the beauty where she is made up as a black woman.

The 39-year-old wore dark foundation and an afro wig in the shots taken by celebrated fashion designer and photographer Karl Lagerfeld.

His images, taken two years ago for a Dom Perignon advertising campaign, were among six shots of Schiffer used by German fashion bible Stern Fotografie to celebrate its 60th anniversary.

Another one of the photographs shows Schiffer, 39, made up to resemble an Asian woman.

But the images have not gone down well with Shevelle Rhule, fashion editor at black lifestyle magazine Pride, openly saying that the images were tasteless.

“It shows poor taste and it’’s offensive,” the Telegraph quoted her as telling the Daily Mail.

“There are not enough women of colour featured in mainstream magazines. This just suggests you can counteract the problem by using white models.

“I don”t believe they deliberately set out to offend, they obviously see it as being arty and feel that they are pushing boundaries.

“But clearly no thought has been given to the history behind what they have done and the comparisons it draws with minstrel shows,” she added.

Representatives of the model, however, claim the pictures were not intended to offend and were ‘taken out of context’.