It seems that racial insensitivity is becoming synonymous with the fashion world, as the industry has come under attack due to committing yet another racial faux pas. The Italian arm of fashion magazine Vogue came under fire after they posted up a trend piece online about gold hoop earrings calling them “slave earrings.”
Understandably people were up in arms about the piece, with many using Twitter as an outlet for their anger, calling the piece ‘distasteful’, ‘offensive’ and even accused Italian Vogue of trying to glamorise slavery. The original text said: “Jewellery has always flirted with circular shapes, especially for use in making earrings. The most classic models are the slave and creole styles in gold hoops.” Though the text has since been removed, a reference to “the women of colour who were brought to the southern Unites States during the late 18th century” can still be seen on the website.
Italian Vogue editor, Franca Sozzani attempted to defend the magazine’s actions claiming (unconvincingly) that the situation “is a matter of a really bad translation from Italian into English.” She went on further to say: “The Italian word, which defines those kind of earrings, should instead be translated into ‘ethnical style earrings’. Again, we are sorry about this mistake which we have just amended in the website.”
This is not the first time the magazine has courted controversy. In 2010, after the BP oil spill, the magazine’s August issue featured an editorial spread depicting model Kristen McMenamy, as a wounded bird spitting up water in a feathered gown coated in oil.
