Black Model Refused To Wear Monkey Ears And Lips; FIT Apologizes For ‘Clearly Racist’ Fashion Show

An African American model, who has been in the industry for 4 years, said that she was pressured to wear accessories pf monkey ears and oversize lips that were clearly racist

Amy Lefevre, 25, was scheduled to walk the runway at a Fashion Institute of Technology show but she refused but she refused to walk in the accessories.

“I stood there almost ready to break down, telling the staff that I felt incredibly uncomfortable with having to wear these pieces and that they were clearly racist,” Amy, told The NY Post.

“I was told that it was fine to feel uncomfortable for only 45 seconds.”

Amy has appeared on more than two dozen catwalks, but said she had never experienced anything as bad as the FIT fashion event on Feb. 7.

“I was literally shaking. I could not control my emotions. My whole body was shaking. I have never felt like that in my life,” she said. “People of color are struggling too much in 2020 for the promoters not to have vetted and cleared accessories for the shows.”

Amy ultimately walked the runaway, but without wearing the ears or the bright-red synthetic lips, which came from a sex toy. She stormed out of the event immediately afterward.

According to The Post, the Fashion Institute of Technology eventually apologized on Tuesday for its “racist” alumni fashion show.

FIT president Dr. Joyce F. Brown defended the intent of the concept:

“Currently it does not appear that the original intent of the design, the use of accessories or the creative direction of the show was to make a statement about race; however, it is now glaringly obvious that has been the outcome,” said Brown in a lengthy statement.

“For that, we apologize — to those who participated in the show, to students, and to anybody who has been offended by what they saw.”

This is nothing new. These fashion houses are always trying to push the boundaries just to get a reaction out of folks.

Last February, Gucci took heat for a “blackface sweater” leading to calls from celebs like 50 Cent and Spike Lee to boycott the brand. Italian clothier Dolce & Gabbana was also bruised in 2018 over an ad that apparently mocked a Chinese woman for eating oversize Italian food with chopsticks. And don’t forget about H&M with their so-called monkey business.

Clearly, these brands should get the point by now.

What do y’all think? Is this apology from FIT enough? Leave us a comment below.