Painting models' face brown or black, or contemporary blackface, has become quite commonplace in recent fashion TV shows and editorials.

Paris Vogue painted model Lara Stone a deep bronze for their October issue:

Tyra Banks then followed suit, shooting her newbie contestants as various races for an 'America's Next Top Model' Shoot :
And finally, V Magazine topped them all with Sasha Pivovarova in blackface in their November Issue:

It seems that the fashion elites are collectively resorting to face paint for their avant garde editorials.

While Paris Vogue came under fire for their photos, Tyra Banks and V Magazine haven't been criticized. It also begs the question: If African-American mogul Tyra Banks is painting people other races for purposes of artistic expression, is the practice truly racially insensitive?

What do you think of this new fashion trend? Are people simply being too sensitive...and missing the inherent beauty in skin painting? Or are the people doing the skin painting remiss in ignoring the historical implications of blackface?