Fashion’s difficult relationship with race: Gucci and Prada’s blackface faux pas just the tip of the iceberg
- A slew of recent incidents, from ad campaigns to turtlenecks, show just how tone deaf designers and other industry bigwigs can be
- Vogue got into trouble on two fronts, and Burberry sent a model down the catwalk wearing a hoodie with a ‘noose’
Then came news of a “slave-themed” 50th birthday party for Vogue Brazil style director Donata Meirelles, who stepped down after photos of the event sparked outrage.
In a nation that abolished slavery only in 1888, where more than 50 per cent of the population identifies as black or mixed race, evidently Meirelles, who is white, had not considered the optics of Instagram photos of herself and other white party guests seated on an ornate cane chair flanked by black women in traditional dress.
“We have zero tolerance for racism and images evoking racism,” said Condé Nast International, Vogue Brazil’s parent company, in a statement to The Cut website.
In 2017, Hadid was widely slammed after an Instagram video posted by her sister, Bella, depicted the model holding up a Buddha-shaped biscuit and squinting to mimic the shape of its eyes.
Hadid subsequently withdrew from that year’s Victoria’s Secret fashion show in Shanghai, reportedly because her China visa had been denied.
The shot of Hadid’s solo cover for Vogue Hong Kong’s debut March 2019 issue was pulled from the magazine’s Instagram account after the post was flooded with negative comments. And every issue featuring the solo cover has been withdrawn from sale.
An expensive oversight, and surprising, given that the executives who would have signed off on the Hadid cover could hardly be accused of white myopia since they are both Chinese: editorial director Peter Wong and publisher Desiree Au.
You would have thought Dolce & Gabbana might have gained insight into Chinese sensibilities when its 2017 “DG loves China” ad campaign, shot in Beijing, elicited complaints after showing only old parts of the city and not modern China. But we guess not.
In yet another of February’s myriad fashion fiascos, Burberry creative director Riccardo Tisci sent a hoodie with a “noose” around the neck down the runway at the brand’s autumn 2019 show.
After the garment was shown at London Fashion Week, it emerged that one person had tried to sound the alert to show organisers about the offence the garment could cause – American model Liz Kennedy.
According to Kennedy, she was glibly instructed to write a letter to head office.
No need. She posted about it on Instagram and the story made global headlines.
Oops.
