Luxury Italian fashion brand Dolce & Gabbana presented their Spring 2013 collection on Sunday -- and while the toy soldier printed dresses and striped rompers were kitschy, it was the images of dark-skinned, slave-like African women splashed on burlap-sack frocks and adorning the ears of models that made some people cringe.
While the decorative images and figurines -- also known as Blackamoors -- of black people dressed lavishly in turbans and jewels are largely considered collectable art, they can also be very offensive. No matter how beautiful they are, the figures still represent slavery. With that said, are you offended by D&G's use of Blackamoors?
When I first saw the earrings, I didn't think they were offensive; however, after seeing the image of the dress above (reminded me of blackface and other black caricatures) and never recalling hearing the term "Blackamoor" before, I tried to find more information that revealed what the issue really was. Apparently, this style of art originated in the 17th century in Italy, and it depicts North-African men and women (slaves) of the time period.
If you search "Blackamoor history" in Google, you'll barely find any substantial information other than the word means "very dark-skinned person" and a few debates on whether owning Blackamoor statues makes one racist. What I did find a lot of, however, were links to antique Blackamoors and people's love of collecting them (which, to me, is a bit questionable and borderline creepy). I found this one article where the blogger (who I assume is white), provides a brief background of Blackamoors and showcases the statue he has in his "old historic house". He starts his post by saying that he's not racist, and he hopes he doesn't offend anyone. Most of the commentators, who also happen to be white, don't find the post offensive at all, and, like the blogger, believe Blackamoors are artistic, decorative pieces of work. However, I did come across the following comment from a black woman:
Interesting, you acknowledge the origin of these statues (depictions of Black Africans, Moors and/or Nubian slaves), yet you neglect to mention the horrific conditions under which they lived. As an African American woman and educator, I think it should be made clear how these and other depictions of people of African descent came about. No, I am not offended; I have several Blackamoors because I believe they should be in the hands of those they represent. Furthermore, I question anyone who starts off with "I am not a racist." Perhaps not, but there is greater depth and history to these statues.
Tell me in a comment below.
I am not offended. It is art and is being presented tastefully. It seems like the clothes were designed to represent the cultural plight of women during slavery as strong. The colors are beautiful. it's no different from they derive designs from Shakespeare, rock and roll, communism, or politics.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for posting this!!! I had no idea this was even a thing! I honestly do not know whether to be offended or not. On the one hand, it reminds me of black face, which was very offensive and on the other, I can see how some consider it art. Now there is no doubt in my mind that some whites may collect these figurines because they are racist, but I don't want to make that assumption about all of them. I do agree with the first comment that the women depicted look strong, but this can also be seen as a way of "dumbing down" how bad slavery really was. I'm still undecided on the issue, but a bigger question in my mind is would black people would be offended at all if the designer and models were black?
ReplyDeleteI don't find this to be offensive. I think the image on the dress is pretty--that's a lovely lady. And she's dressed in lovely colors, flowers and/or fruit. I'd love to have that--maybe as a bag rather than a dress. She doesn't look like a caricature at all to me, nothing like black face. She's brown, not pitch black. She is pretty, she has nice features. Her lips are large, but they are shaped like lips, not bulbous or blood red. And lots of black ladies have big lips. I like it.
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