Gucci has withdrawn a polo neck sweater from its Fall/Winter 2018 collection, following a backlash over the piece’s resemblance to racist blackface tropes. The black sweater, described as a “balaclava” knit, covers part of the face. This section of the sweater features a cut-out mouth and large red lips, which has sparked the controversy.

Gucci has posted a statement to twitter saying that they deeply apologize for the piece.

The statement continues: “we consider diversity to be a fundamental value to be fully upheld, respected and at the forefront of every decision we make. We are fully committed to increasing diversity throughout our organisation and turning this incident into a powerful learning moment for the Gucci team and beyond.”

Gucci is one of the latest brands to receive backlash due to racist imagery. In December last year, Prada pulled its “Otto Toto” keychain after Twitter users pointed out its similarity to blackface imagery, while H&M was heavily criticized following insensitive styling of its “Coolest Monkey In The Jungle.”

GUCCI SWEATER 

PRADA KEYCHAIN 

It’s a little unbelievable that no-one  at Gucci “noticed” the similarities between the racist imagery of their $890 sweater and Prada’s keychain – the latter of which was pulled from stores less than two months ago…