“Alitalia deeply apologizes for the offense caused by the promotional video on our new Washington route,” it said in a statement. Earlier this year, Gucci, another Italian brand, stopped selling a black-knit women’s sweater that could be pulled up over the lower half of a wearer’s face. Its opening for a mouth was surrounded by bright red lips, and the garment was decried on social media for evoking blackface imagery. Prada, also based in Italy, apologized for charms on bags that resembled black monkeys with outsize red lips. The ad industry has long struggled with a lack of gender and ethnic diversity.

Source: International New York Times July 03, 2019 21:11 UTC