The Gucci show on Sunday night at Milan Fashion Week got hijacked by a militant model. Indeed, at the beginning of its ready-to-wear show, while models were gliding down the conveyor belt runway, one of the model appeared holding up her hands.
The model in question, Ayesha Tan Jones, had written on it “mental health is not fashion”. According to her, the reworked version of the garments used in psychiatric hospital, that were part of the fashion week show, is an offense toward anybody who has dealt with mental health issues.
Heading her Instagram post, about the show, she wrote: “As an artist and model who has experienced my own struggles with mental health, as well as family members and loved ones who have been affected by depression, anxiety, bipolar and schizophrenia, it is hurtful and insensitive for a major fashion house such as Gucci to use this imagery as a concept for a fleeting fashion moment”.
The brand responded to Jones on Instagram on Sunday evening. They said the straitjackets used in the show was much more a symbol of “the most extreme version of a uniform dictated by society and those who control it”.
Gucci has also been defended by the actor and model Hari Nef, who wrote on Jones’ Instagram “It was more a provocative reminder of submission than a glamorization of insanity“.
However, Gucci’s creative director, Allesandro Michele, said that the outfits were part of a performance and will not be for sale.
Anyway, Jones succeeded in her protest as the subject became viral.
#Peace.Love.Gucci
