Prada has enlisted film director Ava DuVernay and artist Theaster Gates as co-chairs of its new advisory council on diversity issues, the Italian label announced yesterday.
The board will be tasked with advising on 'Prada's initiative to elevate voices of colour within the company and the fashion industry at-large.'
The council will 'guide the company towards a more inclusive and diverse future' and advise Prada as it 'invests in diverse talent development and expands opportunities for young students of colour in the fashion industry,' the company said.
Other unannounced academics and cultural experts will make up the diversity council, which, as well as helping the brand invest in diverse creatives, will partner with universities and organisations to sponsor scholarships and training across Prada's global offices and 'spearhead internship and apprenticeship initiatives in diverse communities to close the inclusion gap in the fashion industry'.
'Prada is committed to cultivating, recruiting, and retaining diverse talent to contribute to all departments of the company,' Miuccia Prada said in a statement via The Cut.
'In addition to amplifying voices of colour within the industry we will help ensure that the fashion world is reflective of the world in which we live, and we are thrilled to be working with longtime collaborators Ava DuVernay and Theaster Gates on this important initiative.”
The decision to form the diversity council is a great step, and comes as a response to recent accusations of racism levelled against the brand, who were forced to withdraw monkey-like keychain figurines resembling blackface from its shelves.
