Prada捲入種族歧視風波，品牌緊急全面下架 Pradamalia 配件系列

早前Dolce&Gabbana引來眾星發言抵制的辱華風波熱潮漸漸減退，誰不知就連Prada也捲入歧視風波，品牌日前立即全面下架 Pradamalia 配飾系列商品。到底是什麼原因讓品牌惹上爭議，故事主人翁竟然是這隻這隻名為「Otto」的玩偶。它被指影射嘲諷非裔人士遭到下架。無心之過還是刻意為之，我們聽聽品牌解釋。

 

在 Instagram 查看這則貼文

 

Woke up on the morning of our fourth birthday to some news about our namesake @prada . The “Pradamalia” collection, produced in collaboration with @2x4inc , features fantasy “lab-created” animals. According to a press release about the collab, the creatures mix up the codes of the house into their features. Many are comparing “Otto”, a resulting mutation of one of Prada’s oldest mascots, the monkey, to Little Sambo, a children’s book character from 1899, who exemplified the pickaninny style of blackface caricature, though other examples from as early as 1769 can be found. The exaggerated stereotypes propagated racism freely back then, but it’s apparent that the legacy of the harmful imagery still affects how we contextualize racism today. This is surprising from Prada, who’s known (at least recently) for the inclusivity of their casting, propelling then unknown models like Anok Yai and Jourdan Dunn into near supermodel status…not to mention casting Naomi Campbell in that 1994 campaign at a time when it was generally deemed “risky” to cast people of color in international luxury campaigns. Recently, they mounted “The Black Image Corporation”, an exhibition highlighting the importance and legacy of black creators in American publishing and photography, in both Milan and Miami. Representation is important, but understanding how to navigate the nuances of how the world perceives racism is even more so. One thing is pretty clear though…given recent scandals, luxury brands operating on a massive global scale need more systems in place to avoid controversies like this. A suggestion for now: more diversity on a corporate level for positions that actually hold power in decision making and brand imaging. Prada issued a swift apology on twitter and are in the process of removing the products from display and sale, but no mention on Instagram yet. Dieters, chime in with your thoughts! • Source: Chinyere Ezie via Twitter (@ lawyergrrl) • #prada #blackface #littlesambo #retailproblems #retaildisplay #soho #nyc #dietprada

Diet Prada ™（@diet_prada）分享的貼文 於 PST 2018 年 12月 月 14 日 上午 11:50 張貼

故事先從這裡說起，紐約非裔人權律師 Chinyere Ezie 日前路過Prada 曼哈頓分店時目睹品牌櫥窗面前擺放著最新推出的「Ptomalia」配件系列，而當中這隻名為 Otto 的玩偶外表以紅唇黑髮和誇張眼，再配上木質深褐色的皮膚打造而來，讓人不自覺地聯想起非裔人士。玩偶形象與故事書《Little Black Sambo》裡主角相似。同樣追溯十九世紀年代，美國曾經興起於白臉塗黑再配上紅唇，誇張造型作為娛樂大眾之用。類似這樣的舉動依然會讓人認為是種族歧視。

If @prada had people of color on staff in positions of power, #BoycottPrada would have never happened. Just another reminder why #diversitymatters https://t.co/JFi0pUUzDV

— Chinyere Ezie (@lawyergrrl) 2018年12月14日

Chinyere Ezie 後來在社交媒體Facebook 發文以表不滿。她形容自己強烈譴責與氣憤心情，她甚至步入店內詢問店員每當看見玩偶會否會聯想黑臉妝？店員則表示早前已經有黑人員工對此作相同反應。Chinyere Ezie 對此感到相當不滿，「這種圖像在歷史上被用來取笑及羞辱黑人，並剝奪我們的人性。歷史不能夠再重演，美國非裔族群值得更好的對待，我們要求更好的對待。」

[2/] #Prada Group never had the intention of offending anyone and we abhor all forms of racism and racist imagery. In this interest we will withdraw the characters in question from display and circulation.

— PRADA (@Prada) 2018年12月14日

[1/2] #Prada Group abhors racist imagery. The Pradamalia are fantasy charms composed of elements of the Prada oeuvre. They are imaginary creatures not intended to have any reference to the real world and certainly not blackface.

— PRADA (@Prada) 2018年12月14日

細數起時裝界同類非裔族歧視個案，你大概會記得 H&M 同樣曾經因該非裔男童身穿「COOLEST MONKEY IN THE JUNGLE」衛衣而被指涉嫌歧視，不但惹來砲轟品牌形象同時大受影響。再提起2009年，法國版vogue 10月號同樣曾因爲把原本荷蘭模特兒絲通（LaraStone）白皮膚塗成黑色。雜誌聲稱向名模致敬，但好端端的白人變黑面，成功惹來廣泛負評形容雜誌總編輯和攝影師品味低俗，並指效果令人作嘔」。今次Prada意外捲入種族歧視，誠摯歉意能否換來大家原諒？