Prada pulled a $550 keychain from its Pradamalia collection with 2 x 4 after it went viral for being compared to blackface imagery.
In social media posts, Chinyere Ezie, a civil rights attorney and activist, said that the design of a monkey keychain and storefront displays at the brand’s store in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood were reminiscent of Little Sambo, a character in a children’s book with illustrations that are considered overtly racist.
According to the website, the Pradamalia collection features “mysterious tiny creatures that are one part biological, one part technological, all parts Prada;” whistle-blowing fashion bloggers Diet Prada also noted that the monkey has long been a mascot of the Italian fashion house.
Diet Prada was also quick to point out that the historical impact of this racist imagery like Sambo can still influence visual contexts for people now, writing on their Instagram account that: “The exaggerated stereotypes propagated racism freely back then, but it’s apparent that the legacy of the harmful imagery still affects how we contextualize racism today.”
Prada has since issued an apology on Twitter and pulled the keychain from their website and is in the process of removing the products from their stores and displays. See the full posts below.
[1/2] #Prada Group abhors racist imagery. The Pradamalia are fantasy charms composed of elements of the Prada oeuvre. They are imaginary creatures not intended to have any reference to the real world and certainly not blackface.
[2/] #Prada Group never had the intention of offending anyone and we abhor all forms of racism and racist imagery. In this interest we will withdraw the characters in question from display and circulation.
