Gucci has managed to stir up a controversial storm with the design of their recently-announced ankle bracelet, which many have compared to a shackle worn by slaves.
And while the reference is doubtful at best, it looks like the story has gained traction fast, and many people are now mocking the fashion giant for their apparent ignorance on the subject.
Some other details of the bracelet have also been brought under question, such as the fact that the “lipsticks” circling the design seem to resemble bullets.
All in all, there has been a lot of discussions about the new design, and not many of the comments so far have been positive.
Entirely, on the contrary, it looks like Gucci might have a big storm to fend off in the near future. The company has remained relatively quiet, however, and has not addressed the recent controversy publicly.
Gucci trying to make ankle monitoring bracelets sexy I see pic.twitter.com/iY403bCHAN
— Erna Mahyuni (@ernamh) October 4, 2019
It is not unlikely that they will come forward with a brief explanation/apology at some point, though, as it certainly would not be the first time that Gucci has found themselves under fire for behavior that has been deemed inappropriate.
The company seems to have a solid track record of that at this point, and many people, including rapper T.I., have been growing increasingly disappointed with their approach to certain cultural elements.
Could this be the result of outdated internal values and beliefs? It is hard to tell — but something must be done sooner or later to address the situation, judging by the way things are going on the public front.
One person chimed in: “They ugly as hell, but somebody will buy just to say it Gucci I’m w tip nothing gonna change people gonna keep buying they gonna kept making degrading styles.”
This social media user had the following to say: “Are they running out of ideas … or do they just enjoy free promo? Cause they’re trolling at this point.”
This comment on the matter read: “I mean I’m beginning to think he racist and his creative designers are racist too. Why do we need to spend our money with people who are disrespectful to our history and us?”
A fourth observer stated: “I’m definitely NOT offended… buuuttttt when I saw this I instantly thought of tommie and the real Tarzan guy… both who are black and post pictures in that damn anklet like it’s a statement piece… maybe they were inspired ??♀️… IDK just an observation. They do this on purpose. Free publicity to make 4th quarter sales and save on marketing.”
Some say Gucci might make some donations again to end the controversy.
Apparently Gucci is in trouble for making ankle-bracelet looking shoes. How bout people just don’t buy them??♂️ pic.twitter.com/D83maPdLbC
— Reggie Watkins (@ReggieWatkinsJr) October 9, 2019
