Sigh. Gucci, this was NOT the start to Black History Month that we needed.
The designer brand is facing backlash, after one of its truly expensive and truly racist sweaters caught people’s attention online. And in 2019, with the state of our society and pop culture as it is, we just have one question: why?
Related: Tom Brokaw Offers Half-Ass Apology After Xenophobic Comments About ‘The Hispanics’
The Italian luxury brand’s “Balaclava knit top” features a super long, cloth neckline that pulls up and over the nose, with an opening for the wearer’s mouth. The mouth opening is outlined with oversized red lips, directly mirroring the images of minstrelsy from the early 20th century.
Gucci has since pulled the item from its physical and online stores, but thanks to a screenshot captured beforehand, you can see it for yourself (below):
So not only is the design super tacky and outdated, it’s $890 (!!) racist AF too. Not cool.
The brand issued an official apology about it via Twitter, saying:
“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. 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.”
Welp. Apology or not, Twitter had quite a lot to say about the whole thing:
We have ONE month to celebrate the history of African Americans. Feb. 2019: Multiple accounts of politicians wearing blackface. And now news Gucci was selling a $890 blackface sweater. We are a nation desperately in need of diversity training. #gucci #BlackHistoryMonth pic.twitter.com/tHXEAP2pjN
— Michelle Singletary (@SingletaryM) February 7, 2019
This is the first thing I read this morning and I just want to go back to bed and start this month over. https://t.co/EEzNVqlvo0
— Kimberly Atkins Stohr (@KimberlyEAtkins) February 7, 2019
So @gucci puts out a sweater that looks like blackface……
On Black History Month….
And then issues an apology because they didn't know that blackface images are racist.????????♂️ pic.twitter.com/G3HjPTIuuQ
— Tariq Nasheed ???????? (@tariqnasheed) February 7, 2019
I refuse to believe NOBODY at @gucci realised this would create a 'black face' racial firestorm….
…unless every member of their staff is a complete halfwit….
..which leads me to suspect they did it deliberately…
…which, if true, makes Gucci despicably cynical. pic.twitter.com/0paM2wgM7G— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) February 7, 2019
Let me get this straight, @gucci issues an apology for a sweater that appears to resemble blackface…I just can’t *screaming*!
Dear America,
Cut the shit! Step away from blackface. It was racist and dehumanizing in the late 19th century and it is still racist today &forever more pic.twitter.com/3iPiMehPiZ— Nina Turner (@ninaturner) February 7, 2019
Sigh. As we mentioned before, why are things like this still happening?
You would think after that controversial and racist H&M ad debacle at almost the exact same time last year, that other companies would learn from their mistakes and keep racist messaging out of its designs. Were there no people of color at the table when deciding on new looks for sale??
What do YOU guys think about Gucci’s sweater? Sound OFF in the comments below!
[Image via Gucci]
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