Miuccia Prada to get sensitivity training with employees: Report

The last few years have seen a host of top fashion houses get embroiled in controversies for launching products that are seen as insensitive.

According to the New York Times, the products ranged from Gucci’s blackface knitted pullover to Prada’s figurines that resembled monkeys in blackface, and Dolce & Gabbana’s video that caricatured the Chinese.

Despite both Prada and Gucci taking the products off the shelves, and resolved to focus more on diversity training, people levelled allegations of racism and insensitivity on social media.

The report noted that on January 4, 2018, Chinyere Ezie, a civil rights lawyer, had filed an official complaint with the commission against Prada’s figurines that allegedly resembled blackface.

A Prada spokeswoman said that “the resemblance of the products to blackface was unintentional”. She added that Prada was "surprised" to have been approached by the commission despite taking remedial steps immediately.

In light of the events, the New York City Commission on Human Rights struck a deal with Prada on February 4 on remedial steps for the issue.

While Prada vociferously denied any discrimination, the company agreed to educate their staff, hire more people from diverse backgrounds, and also have its progress on this front mapped by an external agent for the next two years.

As per the commission agreement, Prada will have to provide sensitivity training to all of its New York and Milan employees within four months of signing the deal. This means, Miuccia Prada and her husband Patrizio Bertelli, who is the chief executive officer of the Prada group, will also have to undergo training.

Moreover, Prada will have to appoint a “diversity officer” at director level in the next four months, whose responsibilities will include reviewing the brand’s designs, advertisements, campaigns, for cultural insensitivity. Within a year of signing the deal, Prada will have to report to the commission informing it of the demographic structure of the company to ensure they are inclusive.

The Human Rights Commission has reportedly been in talks with Gucci and Christian Dior to impart sensitivity training to them as well. Gucci also announced that it will try and diversify its design and also make the executive team more inclusive.

The report quoted Ellen Berrey, who teaches Sociology at the University of Toronto, saying, “It is like the law is being more expansive and scientifically accurate based on the interpretation of how racism works in current society…. It indicates an understanding that one of the most powerful mediums for communicating racism is through cultural imagery.”

The report noted that not everyone saw this as a positive move.  William Kovacic, a professor at the George Washington University Law School, said it gave rise to the larger question of free speech. He said: “If we extend the concept of screening to other sectors, there could be an uproar. If a garment is being judged, why not a painting?”