Gucci apologises for selling a "blackface" jumper

7 February 2019, 12:32

Gucci "blackface" wool balaclava jumper.
Gucci apologises for selling a "blackface" jumper. Picture: Gucci
Jazmin Duribe

By Jazmin Duribe

The jumper is no longer on sale.

Gucci have issued an apology after causing widespread offence by selling a jumper which resembled blackface. The black "balaclava jumper" covered the lower half of the face and featured a red cut-out around the mouth.

Blackface has an offensive history and has been perpetuating racist stereotypes of Black people since the 1800s. Bright red lips and dark skin are common characteristics of historical blackface imagery.

Gucci's design received a lot of backlash, especially because it's Black History Month in the US. Clearly they hadn't learnt from Prada, who faced a similar issue last year when they released figurines that resemble racist depictions of black people. 

Gucci apologised for any offence caused and confirmed the item would be removed from sale. They also said they would be working to make the company more diverse.

It read: "Gucci deeply apologizes for the offense caused by the wool balaclava jumper. We can confirm that the item has been immediately removed from our online store and all physical stores.

"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."