Spike Lee said he will no longer wear Prada or Gucci until the fashion houses "hire some black designers."
The Oscar-nominated director made the announcement via Instagram on Friday in light of the labels' blackface controversies. Prada received backlash less than two months ago for an accessories collection that featured a dark-colored monkey with bright red, oversized lips as a figurine, a racist caricature popularized during the Jim Crow era. Prada issued an apology and eventually pulled the design.
Gucci clearly didn't learn from Prada's ignorant mistake. On Wednesday, the Italian fashion label announced it would stop selling a black balaclava sweater that evoked blackface imagery. The piece featured an oversized collar that could be pulled over the wearer's mouth; the collar included a mouth slit that was framed with giant red lips.
"I, Spike Lee Of Sound Mind And Body Will No Longer Wear Prada Or Gucci Until They Hire Some Black Designers To Be In Da Room When It Happens," the filmmaker director wrote on Instagram. "It's Obvious To Da Peoples That They Don't Have A Clue When It Comes To Racist, Blackface Hateful Imagery. WAKE UP. Ya-Dig?
The Hollywood Reporter points out Lee has worn both labels during the current awards season. The BlacKkKlansman director stepped onto the Venice Film Festival red carpet last September rocking Gucci; weeks later, he attended the Prada womenswear preview show in Milan wearing a Prada suit.Â
