Designer Tommy Hilfiger speaks at a press conference with model Gigi Hadid (NOT PICTURED) during Fashion Week in New York, USA, 09 September 2016. The 21-year-old has a penchant for sunglasses. They are also her favorite pieces in her first fashion collection, which she designed together with star designer Tommy Hilfiger (65). CHRISTINA HORSTEN/dpa. New York, United States. 09 Sep 2016. Christina Horsten/picture-alliance/Cover Images
Numerous demonstrations have been staged across the nation in recent days in response to the shocking death of African-American man George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers on 25 May.
Fashion industry leaders, including Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger, have pledged their support for the anti-racism protests taking place across the U.S.
Numerous demonstrations have been staged across the nation in recent days in response to the shocking death of African-American man George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers on 25 May. All four police officers involved have been fired, and one, Derek Chauvin, has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter after he was caught on camera kneeling on Floyd’s neck for close to nine minutes.
Accordingly, prominent members of the fashion community have since taken to social media to share their outrage over the incident and to champion the Black Lives Matter movement.
“We all want to make a good life for ourselves and our loved ones. To have the opportunity to achieve this is an essential human right. The abhorrent acts of racism happening across America betray this and everything I believe in,” said Lauren in a statement, while Hilfiger added in a post on his personal Instagram account: “What is happening in this country is not OK/ What happened to George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery – and countless others – is not OK. We need action. To achieve change, we have to be fearless in speaking out and standing up for what is right.”
Elsewhere, Balenciaga and Alexander McQueen bosses confirmed they would be making donations to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Vivienne Westwood noted she was “horrified” by Floyd’s death and encouraged those taking part in protests to wear masks and social distance in order to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus, while luxury footwear designer Brian Atwood begged anyone who didn’t support the demonstrations to unfollow him on Instagram immediately.
—Reuters
