Mar 13th, 2020, 10:01 PM

"Provocative" Fashion: Unfiltered

By Shi-ann James
Monkey See, Monkey Do, Image Credit: Shutterstock/527090140
Yet Another Faux-Pas in terms of Cultural Sensitivity

There are many words that have been used to describe the fashion industry and the people within it. Innovative gets thrown around quite a bit. Avant-garde if you want to get fancy, and snobby also often finds a way to creep into its more critical vernacular. Now it seems that ‘provocative’ has become the most fitting word to describe the fashion industry

During New York Fashion Week, on February 7, 2020, the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York held a show for some of its students who are part of the institutions Master of Fine Arts (MFA) program. It was at one of these shows that designer and former student, Junkai Huang, presented his womenswear collection that sent incredulous ripples throughout the social media-sphere.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

It shouldn’t be down to the models to have to refuse wearing blatantly racist accessories on the runway, especially not in a show thrown by an institution like @fitnyc. In an alumni show celebrating their 75th anniversary, MFA graduate Junkai Huang showed a collection that was meant to highlight the “ugly features of the body”. The choice of exaggerated bright red fake lips and “monkey ears”, as well as the school’s response, are leaving us shaking our heads. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Nearing a breakdown, African-American model Amy Lefevre (@lefevrediary ) spoke up about the accessories, but was told by staff it was “ok to be uncomfortable for only 45 seconds”. It’s one thing when it’s a pair of tricky heels, but quite another when you’re made up to look like racist caricatures from the not-so-distant past. Multiple complaints had been made in the days leading up to the show as well, with several people objecting. One anonymous student who was witness backstage, said the show’s producer @richardthornn told the group to “back down and get away” when they brought up the issue again. The accessories didn’t end up making it onto Lefevre, but that didn’t stop them from going down the runway on other models. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ In a statement to the NY Post, FIT president Dr. Joyce F. Brown emphasized allowing the students the “freedom to craft their own personal and unique artistic perspectives as designers, to be even what some would consider to be provocative”, but said they would investigate further. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ In a time when luxury brands are taking swift action by pulling offensive products and implementing diversity councils in response to similar scandals, it’s a shame to see a learning institution dragging their feet. Shouldn’t they be the ones broadening insights for the ones who will lead fashion in the future and not reinforcing the same aspects that have made the industry notoriously problematic? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ • #fit #fitnyc #suny #cuny #fashionschool #college #mfa #mastersdegree #alumni #fitalumni #fashiondesigner #design #designer #runway #model #blackface #racism #monkey #grotesque #sexdoll #bodyimage #lumpsandbumps #wiwt #ootd #runwaymodel #nyfw #fashionweek #dietprada

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For the show, Huang, used oversized prosthetic ears and lips with the intention of calling attention to what is perceived as the “ugly features of the body”. It is when a black model, Amy Lefevre, was expected to wear the prosthetic accessories down the runway, that simmering tensions boiled over.

According to the New York Post, several students who were also working on the show made their objections known to the director, Jonathan Kyle Farmer, who is also a FIT professor and chair of the MFA Fashion Design program.

Grievances were additionally brought up to the producer of the show, Richard Thornn. Thornn, also creative director of British fashion production company NAMES LDN, is said to have tried to “strong-arm” Lefevre into wearing the prosthetics and deflected objections by telling people to “back down and get away”.

The moment she was faced with the prosthetics, model Lefevre stated that she was “uncomfortable” with having to wear the accessories but was told “it was fine” to feel uncomfortable with the short amount of time she would be on the runway. Founder and owner of the location where the show was held, Pier59 Studios, Federico Pignatelli stated that the accessories used were “not fashion” and instead was “insensitive cultural mockery”.

In the end, Lefevre walked down the runway without the offending prosthetics, but left the show immediately after. The model hopes that something like this “never happens” to her again.

President of FIT, Dr. Joyce F. Brown, released a statement concerning the incident expressing that the “original intent” of the show was not to make a “statement about race”. And while “no person should be made to feel uncomfortable” students [at FIT] “must be afforded the safe space and freedom to learn and develop their voice, even if the voice is provocative to some.”

The growing controversy has led to the suspension of the show’s director, Jonathan Kyle Farmer, and the dean of the School of Graduate Studies, Mary Davis. The announcement was posted on FIT’s Instagram page on February 22, 2020.