- AFP
-
|
A prestigious New York fashion college
apologized on Wednesday after a catwalk featuring models wearing large
prosthetic red lips, ears and bushy eyebrows was branded racist.
The president of the Fashion Institute of Technology said it was
investigating the use of the accessories in the February 7 show, which was
part of New York Fashion Week.
Joyce Brown said it had not been the creator’s intent to make a statement
about race but “it is now glaringly obvious that has been the outcome.
“For that, we apologize — to those who participated in the show, to
students, and to anybody who has been offended by what they saw,” she said
in
a statement emailed to AFP.
The show made headlines after African-American model Amy Lefevre, 25,
told
the New York Post tabloid that she had refused to wear the props because
they
were “clearly racist.”
In a statement posted on Instagram, Jonathan Kyle Farmer, chairman of the
fashion design program which ran the show, apologized directly to Lefevre.
The controversy comes after Italian fashion house Prada said earlier this
month it would take steps to fight racism and promote diversity following
uproar over its sale of monkey-like key chain figurines.
Prada was forced to apologize in December 2018 after it featured
so-called
“Pradamalia” objects that had exaggerated red lips and evoked blackface
caricatures in its New York store.
Critics said the merchandise — which was pulled from shelves following
the
outcry — resembled Sambo, a racist caricature that reinforced negative
stereotypes about America’s black community.
The problematic custom of blackface dates back to about 1830, and
so-called
“minstrel shows,” when white performers caked their faces in greasepaint or
shoe polish and drew on exaggerated lips.(AFP)
