What was the response from the fashion industry after the terrible events that occurred in Minnesota? Many luxury brands, even if with many delays, shared their message to support the #blacklivesmatter movement. But let’s examine the situation.
The murder of George Floyd completely shook up the United States and started a series of protest all over the country despite the pandemic. If for the most part, the manifestations were pacific, many were the luxury brand’s stores that became a target for lootings. The Alexander McQueen store in Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills was robbed after smashing the door. On the shop window, the protestors wrote: “Make America Pay”. The Marc Jacobs boutique on Melrose Avenue was as well attacked by smashing the door and windows and spraying the names of George Floyd and Sandra Bland (the woman that took her life in 2015 in jail after being a victim of racist attacks). On the glass door of the lingerie store, La Perla appears the tag “The Revolution is Coming”.
“This is not a protest, it’s just destruction”, says the Major of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti, followed by Trump that openly condemned the situation on Twitter.
The reason behind the attacks towards stores and retailers started after that the fashion industry completely ignored what happened in Minnesota. Louis Vuitton after being highly criticized for the launch of their latest campaign for the LV Pont 9 campaign during the lockdown, was one of the first stores being attacked. Even if straight after the brand shared on Instagram a video of a black man riding a horse with the caption: “Make a change. Freedom from racism towards peace together #BlackLivesMatter”.
Followed by a post shared by the Creative Director of their menswear line, Virgil Abloh.
Gucci also shared their support on Instagram and published a poem of the black artist Cleo Wade: “The world will say to you: We need to end racism start by healing it in your own family“. In the meantime, their Rodeo Drive store was sprayed with the phrase “Eat the rich”. Maybe their support came too late, maybe the response was far too violent from the protestors.
Lastly, the two giants of street and sportswear Nike and Adidas for the first joined forces to share their support to the cause, even if their stores were attacked too. The fans keep asking the two brands to collaborate on a special collection to further spread their message: a response that once again underlines the need for a fashion industry less aesthethic, but more ethic.
