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The fashion industry has a diversity problem. Christian Louboutin is trying to design it away.

Christian Louboutin

Nude pumps, nude tights, and nude Band-Aids are all intended to give the allure of bare skin.

But in fashion as we know it, nude has come to mean more the color beige than the concept of nakedness.

Google "nude tights," and you'll likely get a result like this:

For years iconic French luxury footwear designer Christian Louboutin has been trying to flip this script, recognizing that selling nude shoes only in beige or a light tan excludes many of his customers.

In 2013 he released a collection of five shades of nude shoes. In 2015, he expanded the collection to seven shades. And this week, he has expanded his Nudes collection from stilettos and pumps to include comfortable flats:

The "Solasofia" flats are an elegant Parisian-silhouette pointed-toe leather shoe made "to feel like skin." They sell for $595, because inclusivity can only go so far when it comes to Louboutin shoes.

More diverse options for a more diverse fashion industry?

Louboutin's expanded "Nude" collection signals the small changes in a fashion industry that has always been predominantly influenced by white designers and models.

But it's been an uphill battle. And for a market that has been trying for years to address its diversity problem, the mono-color understanding of nude is another clear example of how deeply ingrained white standards are in fashion.

Every fashion week seems to bring with it another diversity blunder, whether it's Valentino's Africa-themed 2016 line that featured mostly white models or Balenciaga featuring only white models at its March show.

After tallying shows for the spring 2016 fashion weeks in London, New York, Milan, and Paris, the Fashion Spot found that models were more than 70 percent white across the board:

This is not to say that there haven't been improvements. This year was the most diverse fashion season yet, and designers such as Zac Posen have made concerted efforts to cast multiracial runways.

It's just that the problem runs deep, model Bethann Hardison told the New York Times. "That’s why you have to keep after it, poking away."

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