How does Gucci save the boycotted "one sweater"?

Fashion, is the leadership of the new atmosphere, and the fashion trend, but also deeply affect the public. Take Gucci Art Wall, which at the end of last year collaborated with artists from New York, Milan, East London, Shanghai and other places, and also set foot on Yongkang Street in Taiwan, where he worked with Yan Zhenfa, a national treasure-class film billboard artist, to create an art wall that attracted many people to make the pilgrimage.

By 2019, Taiwan's Yongkang Street, along with the rest of the world, will have been replaced with an art wall that represents gender equality, with large fluorescent equality symbols covering the characters, emphasizing that no gender should be discriminated against. In fact, this is the CHIME FOR CHANGE program that Gucci has been implementing since 2013 to promote gender equality through public art and design.

Photo : Gucci.

Gucci has acted on localization and gender issues, and we've seen that fashion can be a fad, but it's also a multi-trend that connects society. In the past, however, Gucci has been boycotted by the public because of the racial discrimination caused by its design.

A sweater sparked a boycott.

In February 2019, Gucci introduced a black sweater with a neckgun that covered the lower half of her face, close to the part of her mouth, with a special cut to reveal his lips and a red lip. The Balaclava sweater came under fire after it came on the shelves, arguing that it looked like a 19th-century white actor imitating an African-American costume - blackening his face and wearing a big red lip, and that the sweater was launched in February during African American History Month, which was considered highly racist. (Recommended reading: From girl to queen!) Beyonce's Feminist Path to Black Consciousness)

TV producer Spike Lee announced on Instagram that he would boycott brands that introduced discriminatory designs, including Gucci, as well as Prada, Dolce and Gabbana, which had introduced racist designs: "I, Spike Lee, will not wear Prada or Gucci designs until they hire more African-American designers." 」

After the sweater design controversy broke out, Gucci launched the product on 2/8 (Beijing time) and issued an apology on the community:

Gucci is sorry for the controversy caused by the Balaclava sweater on the shelf, and we immediately removed this product from our online stores and physical storefronts. We believe that diversity is the first of all decisions to support and respect the basic values. We are committed to increasing the diversity of our organization and to turning this controversy into an incentive for Gucci to learn.

Alessandro Michele, Gucci's creative director, also issued a letter of apology to internal employees, acknowledging mistakes and demonstrating the importance of changing action immediately after making a mistake. In addition to expressing the pain of the storm, the letter takes a closer look at the reasons for adopting the design: because of the designer Leigh Bowery's courageous challenge to the bourgeoisie, and his unusual artistic abilities. However, the design caused a wave of discrimination, their own responsibility, and promised to immediately improve the team's diversity and cultural awareness.

"I've always wanted civil rights for people who have been marginalized by tradition, feel like they're not being seen, are silenced in history, or think they're worthless. 」
"My goal is to turn pain into an ode, so I try to support diversity through images that make people self-cultivating and self-determination." (Recommended Reading: Five Minutes to See the World: U.S. Police Shooting Blacks, Racial Controversy Reseconds)

Multi-integration, can also be very fashionable.

Gucci's emphasis on diversity and integration is also reflected in action, which was immediately taken immediately after the controversy, and Gucci announced four plans at IG to promote diversity:

Set up a multi-integration director.

Not only does Gucci recruit multiracial talent, it also needs to establish a global director of guidance for diversity and inclusion, and there will be mentors from all regions to help advance a sense of inclusion and develop a multi-strategy.

Multicultural Design Scholarship.

Gucci will work with design schools to nurture multiracial design talent and create opportunities for underrepresented groups to enter the fashion industry to create an integrated workplace.

Start a multi-integration awareness program.

To eliminate unconscious bias, Gucci's 18,000 employees will begin a month-long diversity program in May.

Launch a global exchange program.

Through in-house exchange programs, potential employees everywhere will have the opportunity to work at their Italian headquarters and receive mentorship, which will make the work environment more diverse and allow employees to learn about different cultures.

Among the four programs, Gucci also partnered with Dapper Dan, an African-American designer who came out against Gucci's racial discrimination at the time, announcing on March 18 that he would advance a long-term African-American Changemakers program that includes the creation of the Changemakers Foundation and a $1.5 million scholarship to nurture more African-American design talent.

From causing controversy to taking responsibility and turning crisis into strength, Gucci tells everyone with action that fashion can be a personal statement or a powerful weapon for shouting to the world, and that when diversity is injected into fashion, it will be full of power and evoke the world's attention to equality and pluralism.