Black Face in Fashion

So the ugly nuisance called black face has re-emerged in a new form called high fashion. Recently French Vogue has included a spread of a Caucasian model with blatantly darkened skin. Now some argue that the photos are doing something new and different but what is so new about demeaning peoples of African decent? You may ask what does this have to do with art? Well high fashion is considered a form of "wear able art" if you will and it also relates to my own personal art work that examines the use of black face and other images. So is their a difference between what is offensive in art for mere aesthetic reasons and what is blatantly offensive to garner intellectual thought?