High end brands have been rumored on Twitter to promote items with racial symbols. On different occasions, brands like Gucci, Adidas and Prada sold items with racially insensitive symbols.
In 2019, Gucci’s company received backlash for a sweater they released in 2018. A year had passed before anyone commented on Gucci’s piece. Using their social media platform, the black community expressed how disgraceful it was to them.
The sweater that was released resembled the degrading term “blackface.” In the 1800s, the humiliating term was often used to describe the face of an African American. The sweater was all black with a long neck that extended over the mouth .
Most buyers offended by it expressed that the design of the sweater wasn't the problem, it was the added bright bulkie red lips to the mouth area.
At the time, Gucci representative Alessandro Michelle said it was not his intent behind the balaclava sweater. He apologized to their customers for any confusion. After apologizing, Gucci removed the sweater from its line.
Even after apologizing it still lost customers, primarily black.
“How could they even release something as sensitive as this?” said Kym’mya Averette, a senior at Communication & Media Arts.
No matter how discriminating the sweater was, Gucci still had promising customers.
“I mean, Gucci is just a label and a brand. The sweater didn’t really offend me personally, I’ll still shop there,” said Dominick Gray, a senior at Communication & Media Arts.
