'mental health is not fashion'; model, ayesha tan-jones, protests gucci during gucci s/s 2020 runway
'Mental health is not fashion': Gucci sparked controversy-again-as a model protested on its Milan runway https://t.co/NOf9auRNWT pic.twitter.com/H34DkEmRep
- The Root (@TheRoot) September 25, 2019
- it’s been a long year for gucci, as it has both sought to stay on the cutting edge of fashion and convince the world it’s made some major positive changes since the “blackface sweater” controversy that rocked the legendary fashion house this january.
- proving that the label still loves to provoke, creative director alessandro michele, once again courted controversy on sunday with gucci’s spring/summer 2020 show in milan--the label's its first entirely carbon-neutral presentation. according to w magazine. the show opened with a series of models in reportedly straitjacket-inspired looks, all of whom emerged from “a set of corrugated metal gates” on a conveyor belt-like runway.
- model and artist, ayesha tan-jones (a.k.a.: yaya bones), who is nonbinary, used the moment to make a powerful statement about mental health, holding up their palms to relay a written message: “mental health is not fashion.”
- read ayesha's statement in full below:
View this post on Instagram
STATEMENT for my protest of the @gucci show ✊🏽 MENTAL HEALTH IS NOT FASHION
A post shared by YaYa Bones (@ayeshatanjones) on
Sep 22, 2019 at 8:23am PDT
sources 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
reminder: ayesha is nonbinary, they/them/their pronouns, please.
models have little autonomy when it comes to work and clients they're offered. i admire their bravery in using this situation that they found themselves in that goes against their personal beliefs as an opportunity to peacefully protest and bring awareness to a global issue being aesthetically co-opted ultimately to make rich and wealthy people more rich and wealthy--especially when there are brands using their platform to bring attention to mental health issues disproportionately affecting people of color such as racial battle fatigue.