A lot of folks may remember the outrage that social media had when H&M posted an ad with an advertisement with a black boy dressed in a hoodie that read “Coolest Monkey in the Jungle.” After the outrage from social media H&M issued an apology for the insensitive and what some may call a racist message the advertisement portrayed. Many people including celebrities were calling for the boycott of H&M brand with singer The Weeknd electing to discontinue promoting the brand.
Today the same outrage has been applied to luxury Italian brand Gucci. The brand created a blackface fashion design that has caused outrage in the black community who have supported Gucci for years. Gucci issued an apology for the design but many people weren’t buying the apology including celebrity Spike Lee who as per the Jasmine Brand says, these designers need more people of color working for their business so that these occurrences would stop.
According to the Jasmine Brand, Atlanta rapper T.I. has called for action by asking people to not purchase any Gucci for the next 3 months and to not wear any Gucci apparel that they own as a result of the design.
Famous brand ambassador Dapper Dan has also posted via his instagram that he will be meeting with the CEO of Gucci to discuss the racial insensitivity and hold the brand accountable for their actions. Frankly, we’ve been here before when companies make a design that offends our community we scream in outrage for a few months and then all is forgotten. A permanent boycott of the brand would be more conducive to seeing the change we would like to see from these luxury brands who continually take from the black culture without credit but easily make designs that offend the same culture they profit from.
Flip the page to see a picture of the design, T.I. call to action, and Dapper Dan statement regarding the incident.