When I though apartheid was a thing of the past, I hear about these fashion stores being accused of racism, for displaying black mannequins in their showroom windows! The issue is not simply the color of the mannequins but the position in which they are grossly flaunted in the window. Branches of All Saints are exhibiting headless dummies, with chains fixed to their necks, hanging from the ceiling with their feet just a few inches above the floor. A branch of the showroom In Exeter was visited by the police to probe into the charges made on the pretext of the offensive nature of the display. Besides, the Rural Racism Project has stated that it has been flooded with complaints, calling for their removal.
According to the spokesperson John McKenzie, these gruesome displays remind one of the Ku Klux Klan and the execution of the black people in America. Somehow, the chains, which are used to hang the mannequins, bring to mind the horrifying concept of slavery, and definitely, it has a negative effect on the viewers. Not only have the black people objected to them but the whites too have found them ominous.
On the other hand, a spokesperson for All Saints retaliated, saying that the models were not black but actually grey, and were used in 28 of its 29 stores nationwide. They looked good, according to the spokesperson, and did not represent a particular race. In her words, ‘We are not the only store to use headless mannequins, and chains are used throughout our shops for various purposes. They go with our rock and roll image.’ The Exeter store assistant manager Tiff Phillips called the people’s response to the display positive, as the stores were making profits and therefore not everyone was against the concept.
The headless pieces have constantly drawn criticism from all fronts, especially after a complaint from a woman whose uncle had hung himself, and the display intensified her heartache. The Developer Land Securities, owner of the $465 million Princesshay shopping complex, said that it was helpless in the matter, as it could not force its tenants to change their window displays.
Whatever the color, black or grey, the sight they present is definitely gruesome, for any kind of human form, even if it be a mannequin is not justified hanging anywhere!
Via: Dailymail
