Prada Pulls $550 Keychains After Blackface Comparisons

Cady Lang
Updated

Prada pulled a $550 keychain from its Pradamalia collection with 2 x 4 after it went viral for being compared to blackface imagery.

In social media posts, Chinyere Ezie, a civil rights attorney and activist, said that the design of a monkey keychain and storefront displays at the brand’s store in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood were reminiscent of Little Sambo, a character in a children’s book with illustrations that are considered overtly racist.

According to the website, the Pradamalia collection features “mysterious tiny creatures that are one part biological, one part technological, all parts Prada;” whistle-blowing fashion bloggers Diet Prada also noted that the monkey has long been a mascot of the Italian fashion house.

Diet Prada was also quick to point out that the historical impact of this racist imagery like Sambo can still influence visual contexts for people now, writing on their Instagram account that: “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.”

Prada has since issued an apology on Twitter and pulled the keychain from their website and is in the process of removing the products from their stores and displays. See the full posts below.

View this post on Instagram

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

A post shared by Diet Prada ™ (@diet_prada) on Dec 14, 2018 at 11:50am PST

Update: On Saturday, Prada issued an official apology via an open letter to Ezie, where they thanked her for calling out the resemblance and expressed “deep regret and sincere apologies.” Prada confirmed that the keychains have been removed from the market and would not be sold.

In the letter, the fashion house also noted that they will be implementing diversity training and an advisory council at the company, and as per Ezie’s suggestion, will be donating proceeds from their Pradamalia collection to a New York-based organization committed to fighting for racial justice. Prada ended the letter with a promise: “We will learn from this and we will do better.”

Read Prada’s full letter and apology below.