Gucci has been one of the latest fashion brands to have issued an apology after social media users pointed out its latest sweater’s resemblance to blackface.
Gucci’s fashion faux pas highlights the need for greater diversity and sensitivity in the industry. Left: Gucci via the Evening Standard. Right: Strobridge & Co.
It seems that February of this year was the month of fashion faux pas — not the minor toilet roll stuck to your shoe type mistake, but major retailers and luxury labels’ blundering which has highlighted the need for increased awareness in diversity and sensitivity. The spotlight has been turned on big names like Gucci, Prada, Burberry and Katy Perry — and for all the wrong reasons.
The world famous Italian fashion house Gucci announced a major push on Friday the 15th of February to improve its diversity hiring policies as a small part of a long-term plan to build and improve its cultural awareness. This came on the heels of social media accusations of the $890 (£695) ‘balaclava’ sweater which was black and had thick, red lips when pulled up across the face, giving the appearance of blackface.
As of late, there has been a concerning trend among luxury retailers such as Prada for products and displays depicting monkey like figures with black faces and bodies and large red lips. Miuccia Prada addressed the criticisms her brand was racist with a rather dismissive remark.
I increasingly think anything one does today can cause offense…how can you know the details of each single culture so well when there can be 100 different cultures in every country?Miuccia Prada
Katy Perry’s namesake brand also faced criticism over two styles of shoes that featured racist imagery. The two styles in question, Ora Face Block Heel and Rue Face Slip-On Loafers, were released in summer 2018. Both styles include the same protruding eyes, nose and full red lips. They were ‘envisioned as a nod to modern art and surrealism’, according to a joint statement. The shoes have since been removed from the Katy Perry Collections.
I was saddened when it was brought to my attention that it was being compared to painful images reminiscent of blackface. Our intention was never to inflict any pain Katy Perry
The origins of blackface date back to the theatrical minstrel shows of the middle 19th century. In such shows, white performers purposefully darkened their skin with cork and shoe polish, donned tattered clothing and grossly exaggerated their features to look stereotypically “black”, including overdrawn red lips.
The very first shows mimicked enslaved Africans on plantations, depicting black people as ignorant, cowardly and lazy. The performances were intended to be funny to the white audiences, but to the black community of the US, they were harmful and dehumanizing.
Such negative portrayals of black people left a damaging legacy in pop culture, especially entertainment and film; however, desensitisation towards blackface has permeated the fashion industry.
Since the backlash from social media, Gucci wrote that it “deeply apologizes” for the piece of clothing.
We are fully committed to increasing diversity throughout our organization and turning this incident into a powerful learning moment for the Gucci team and beyond.Gucci
Gucci CEO Marco Biazzari has also issued a memo to the company, which addressed the blackface scandal:
We made a mistake. A big one. Because of cultural ignorance, but ignorance is not an excuse. And we accept responsibility for this mistake. Yet there is no way of thinking nor believing that this could have ever been intentional
From all the top fashion companies that have faced social media outcry over their products and marketing, (more or less) fine words have been said, promising that they will increase diversity in their companies or undertake sensitivity training in order to avoid such debacles again.
However, words are just that — words. We need to see actions from these multi-national global luxury label companies, who do not have the excuse of funding or world knowledge to explain away such unthinking insensitivity.
Feigning ignorance or calling offensive displays and clothing articles a ‘sign of the times’ is no longer a valid excuse. In this day and age, previously voiceless and disempowered communities have been able to use online platforms to call out this behaviour’. This situation appears to expose the lazy corporations who cannot be bothered to do their research before they decide to charge $890 for a sweater. I say this: do better.