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‘Haute Couture Blackface’: Gucci apologizes and pulls ‘racist’ sweater
Black History Month is not off to the best start.
February has long been dedicated to celebrating black people and their landmark achievements, but just a week into this year’s observance people are already calling for a “redo” — and blackface is largely to blame.
On Friday, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) initially admitted to being in a photo in his 1984 medical school yearbook that showed one person in blackface and another wearing a Ku Klux Klan robe. Later, Northam insisted he was not in the picture, but did say he had once used black shoe polish on his face to look like Michael Jackson. On Wednesday, Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring (D) said he dressed in blackfaceduring college — the same day the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill condemned a 1979 yearbook with a picture of two people in Klan attire appearing to hang another person in blackface.
But the month’s latest blackface controversy doesn’t involve a Virginia leader or college students. This time, the offender is a sweater made by the Italian luxury brand Gucci.
Virginia: Every elected white male in the state has been in blackface at some point.
Gucci: Hold my bag, my belt, and my jeans. pic.twitter.com/mLj3x0LEXQ
— Tyler (@TyFromTheSky) February 7, 2019
A lanky white model with glossy brown hair is pictured against a light gray background. A black turtleneck obscures most of the bottom half of her face, save for her mouth, which peeks out through a hole cut out of the fabric. Outlining the mouth hole is a ring of red in the shape of what appear to be lips.
Images of the sweater, a wool balaclava jumper that retails for $890, were shared to social media on Wednesday and sparked intense backlash, many calling the garment’s design “racist,” or “Haute Couture Blackface,” as one person described it. Late Wednesday night, Gucci issued an apology and confirmed that the turtleneck had been “immediately removed from our online store and all physical stores.”
[Poll: Only 58 percent of Americans oppose blackface]
“Gucci deeply apologizes for the offense caused by the wool balaclava jumper,” the company said in a statement shared to Twitter. “We consider diversity to be a fundamental value to be fully upheld, respected, and at the forefront of every decision we make.”
The statement continued: “We are fully committed to increasing the diversity throughout our organization and turning this incident into a powerful learning moment for the Gucci team and beyond.”
Gucci deeply apologizes for the offense caused by the wool balaclava jumper.
We consider diversity to be a fundamental value to be fully upheld, respected, and at the forefront of every decision we make.
Full statement below. pic.twitter.com/P2iXL9uOhs
— gucci (@gucci) February 7, 2019
Black History Month is not off to the best start.
February has long been dedicated to celebrating black people and their landmark achievements, but just a week into this year’s observance people are already calling for a “redo” — and blackface is largely to blame.
On Friday, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) initially admitted to being in a photo in his 1984 medical school yearbook that showed one person in blackface and another wearing a Ku Klux Klan robe. Later, Northam insisted he was not in the picture, but did say he had once used black shoe polish on his face to look like Michael Jackson. On Wednesday, Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring (D) said he dressed in blackfaceduring college — the same day the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill condemned a 1979 yearbook with a picture of two people in Klan attire appearing to hang another person in blackface.
But the month’s latest blackface controversy doesn’t involve a Virginia leader or college students. This time, the offender is a sweater made by the Italian luxury brand Gucci.
Virginia: Every elected white male in the state has been in blackface at some point.
Gucci: Hold my bag, my belt, and my jeans. pic.twitter.com/mLj3x0LEXQ
— Tyler (@TyFromTheSky) February 7, 2019
A lanky white model with glossy brown hair is pictured against a light gray background. A black turtleneck obscures most of the bottom half of her face, save for her mouth, which peeks out through a hole cut out of the fabric. Outlining the mouth hole is a ring of red in the shape of what appear to be lips.
Images of the sweater, a wool balaclava jumper that retails for $890, were shared to social media on Wednesday and sparked intense backlash, many calling the garment’s design “racist,” or “Haute Couture Blackface,” as one person described it. Late Wednesday night, Gucci issued an apology and confirmed that the turtleneck had been “immediately removed from our online store and all physical stores.”
[Poll: Only 58 percent of Americans oppose blackface]
“Gucci deeply apologizes for the offense caused by the wool balaclava jumper,” the company said in a statement shared to Twitter. “We consider diversity to be a fundamental value to be fully upheld, respected, and at the forefront of every decision we make.”
The statement continued: “We are fully committed to increasing the diversity throughout our organization and turning this incident into a powerful learning moment for the Gucci team and beyond.”
Gucci deeply apologizes for the offense caused by the wool balaclava jumper.
We consider diversity to be a fundamental value to be fully upheld, respected, and at the forefront of every decision we make.
Full statement below. pic.twitter.com/P2iXL9uOhs
— gucci (@gucci) February 7, 2019
