Gucci Under Fire for Campaign Featuring Only Black Models

GUCCI shop located on Avenue Montaigne in Paris, France on September 26, 2016. Photo by Bastien Guerche/Sipa USA (Sipa via AP Images)

Diversity. Apparently a lack of it is the cause of all the world’s problems. For example, look at the backlash Victoria’s Secret is receiving for the lack of diversity in its “What is Sexy” campaign. They’re not the first to be under fire for not being diverse enough, nor will they be the last.

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However, apparently diversity can’t solve all the world’s problems, because SJWs will never, ever be satisfied.

High-end fashion label Gucci recently released an ad campaign featuring nothing but black models. Gucci explained that they knew they hadn’t been diverse enough for SJWs in the past, so the campaign was a step in that direction.

Of course, it wasn’t good enough:

But critics say that’s not enough. BET bemoaned how Gucci’s campaign would remain a “half-hearted effort” until it had involved “POCs in the creative process, actively working to appeal to POCs.”

Others on Twitter echoed the sentiment, saying black models count little unless the brand also partners with black artists, works with black designers, and markets to black consumers. Several contrasted Gucci with the 1990s label FUBU, an acronym for “For Us, By Us.”

“Stunning images. Gives me a sense of nostalgia. A sense of community. But you don’t need much sense to see Gucci exploiting black culture. … All I’m saying is Gucci isn’t fubu and this ad strikes something in me as a black woman. Which ultimately saddens me,” one woman wrote in a series of tweets.

In the New York Times this weekend, writer R. Eric Thomas asked “whose soul is it selling” with the ad campaign.

“While the campaign purports to celebrate black soul, it smacks of performance rather than genuine homage,” he wrote. “Is it offensive? Not really. Is it appropriation? Well, there’s the rub. It would be if the ads included the culture. Instead, Gucci presents a reverent, painstakingly recreated facsimile of a culture. More than anything, the campaign is about the look. It’s just drag. This is soul as drag.”

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Talk about offensive! Apparently all black people can only be part of one culture, called “the culture.” And “POCs,” or “People of Color,” which is somehow less offensive than “colored people,” can all be “appealed to” at the same time. And, from a Leftist standpoint, let’s not even get into how many in the trans community he just offended.

Now, we need to get this straight. Too few “people of color” means you’re not diverse, but too many “people of color” and you’re guilty of cultural appropriation.

The racism of the Klan is alive and well on the Left again, pushing the idea that DNA trumps character and individuality.

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