“The Dean of the School of Graduate Studies and the Chair of the MFA Fashion Design Department have been placed on administrative leave,” FIT President Dr. Joyce F. Brown said in a statement, pending the results of an independent investigation.
Brown called the “styling and accessorizing” used in the show “inexcusable and irresponsible.”
“To us, this indicates that those in charge of and responsible for overseeing the show failed to recognize or anticipate the racist references and cultural insensitivities that were obvious to almost everybody else,” Brown stated.
Newsweek reached out to the Fashion Institute of Technology Saturday for comment.
The February 7 runway show took place during New York Fashion Week and featured “ninety-plus looks by 10 alumni from FIT’s inaugural Master of Fine Arts class in Fashion Design.” Designer Junkai Huang was among the alumni who showcased their designs and was the person who selected the controversial accessories for his designs.
Brown asked “for pause” regarding Huang’s intentions, and added the ultimate blame should be placed on the school.
“We are urging a pause—and a request for context—around the role of Junkai Huang, the young FIT alumnus whose collection at the runway show is at the center of this controversy. Junkai has said, and his thesis notes and sketches support, that the collection he designed and produced was not aimed at invoking or provoking racial implications.”
Amy Lefevre, an African-American model who participated in the February 7 show, told the New York Post that she “was shaking” and could not control her emotions when she was presented with the accessories. Lefevre was “told that it was fine to feel uncomfortable for only 45 seconds.”
“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,” Lefevre said. She did participate in the runway but did not wear the “racist” accessories.
Brown also said in the statement: “I am sending a personal letter of apology on behalf of myself and FIT to model Amy LeFevre for what she experienced at the show. I am sending similar letters of apology to all the models who were part of the same collection. My cabinet has already held multiple meetings with faculty and students to begin a deep and serious dialogue about the immediate, long-term, and systemic implications of the MFA-FIT runway show.”
