Italian luxury brand Gucci pulls jumper after complaints the item resembled blackface make-up
- It was the latest case of a fashion house having to apologise for cultural or racial insensitivity
- Last year, Dolce & Gabbana apologised after an ad campaign featured a Chinese model trying to eat pizza, spaghetti and a cannoli with chopsticks
Gucci has apologised after complaints that a wool jumper with an oversized collar designed to cover the face resembled blackface make-up, and said that the item had been pulled from its online and physical stores.
It was the latest case of a fashion house having to apologise for cultural or racial insensitivity – and further evidence that Italy in particular has a wretched record with racial insensitivity staining everything from fashion to soccer to politics.
In a statement posted on Twitter on Wednesday, Gucci said it was committed to diversity and considered it a “fundamental value to be fully upheld, respected and at the forefront of every decision we make”.
The polo neck black wool balaclava jumper, which sells for US$890 on one site, covers the nose and includes a red cut-out for the mouth.
It was ridiculed on social media as insensitive and racist, at a time when the US is confronting cases of old photographs of white politicians, then students, posing with their faces blackened.