Gucci removes £689 sweater from stores after 'blackface' backlash
Gucci has apologised for a wool sweater after complaints that it resembled blackface make-up, and said the item had been pulled from its online and physical stores.
The $890 (£689) polo-neck "balaclava" sweater, part of the autumn/winter 2018 collection, covers the bottom half of the face and has a cutout mouth with large red lips.
It was the latest case of an Italian fashion house having to apologise for cultural or racial insensitivity.
In a statement posted on Twitter, Gucci said it was committed to diversity and considered it a "fundamental value to be fully upheld, respected and at the forefront of every decision we make".
It comes after being ridiculed on social media as insensitive and racist.
In December, Prada said it was no longer selling a line of accessories that featured a character with brown skin and exaggerated red lips after complaints they resembled blackface.
And last year, Dolce & Gabbana cancelled a Shanghai runway show and apologised after complaints that an advertising campaign featuring a Chinese model trying to eat pizza, spaghetti and a cannoli with chopsticks was culturally insensitive.