TORONTO -- A New York City-based fashion school has apologized after a model booked to walk in their fashion show complained that the accessories she was asked to wear on the catwalk were racist.
Models were asked to wear exaggerated ears, lips and bushy eyebrows for the Fashion Institute of Technology鈥檚 MFA show during a New York Fashion Week showcase in Manhattan on Feb. 7.
One model, , refused to wear the accessories she deemed 鈥渞acist,鈥� and walked the show without them.
Jonathan Kyle Farmer, chair of the modern fine arts fashion design course responsible for the fashion show, , writing 鈥淚 deeply apologize for any harm and pain I鈥檝e caused to those involved with the show, including Amy LeFevre.鈥�
In an , Joyce Brown, president of the Fashion Institute of Technology, wrote 鈥渃urrently, it doesn鈥檛 appears that the original intent of the designs, the use of accessories or the creative direction of the show was to make a statement about race.鈥�
鈥淗owever, it is not glaringly obvious that has been the outcome,鈥� she continued. 鈥淔or that we apologize.鈥�
Brown said that there is currently an investigation into 鈥渉ow this happened.鈥�
The fashion world has long courted backlash for styles and advertising campaigns that feature racist imagery or themes.
Dolce and Gabbana鈥檚 featuring a Chinese model struggling to eat pasta and pizza with chopsticks was met with derision in China, with many consumers calling for a boycott of the luxury designer鈥檚 products.
The ads were eventually pulled and the fashion house apologized.
In February of last year, Gucci was widely criticized for unveiling a sweater that 鈥榬esembled blackface,鈥� as was a Katy Perry shoe design and a Prada set of accessories. All of the brands involved have since apologized.
Last month, Japanese fashion power house Comme des Garcons apologized for sending out white models wearing cornrowed wigs in their Paris men鈥檚 show.
