Gucci Takes a Stand on Gun Control at Milan Fashion Week

The cult Italian label has taken time out from severing models heads at Milan Fashion Week, to donate US $500,000 dollars to tighter gun control laws.

In the wake of the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, students at the school have rallied together to demand tighter gun control laws, organising the March for Our Lives demonstration next month in Washington.

The polarising and increasingly controversial political theme running through America is Gun Control, a topic one might think the fashion world would be removed from. However, gun violence has struck a deep chord in the fashion industry before.

The mass shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida in 2016, took 50 lives. It was a targeted attack and the grief and pain was felt throughout the fashion industry.

As the nation was left in mourning, the outpouring of support from the fashion industry could be heard from the biggest brands and the biggest names all across social media. For Gucci’s part they have made their thoughts clear by donating US $500,000 to March for Our Lives

Screengrab Tweet
Marc Jacobs tweet following the mass shooting at Pulse Nightclub.

“I am truly moved by the courage of these students,” Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele told WWD. “My love is with them, and it will be next to them on March 24. I am standing with March for Our Lives and the strong young women and men across the United States who are fighting for their generation and those to come.”

The teenagers who survived the shooting have become the brave face of a much-needed movement. They have been courageous and unapologetically outspoken, facing off against politicians on live TV and besting them, and giving powerful speeches, such as Emma Gonzales impassioned plea for her safety and other school students, the ripples of her raw speech reaching far outside of America.

Gucci’s half a million is just one of the high-profile donations the March for Our Lives movement has received: Amal and George Clooney have also donated $500,000, along with Oprah and Stephen Spielberg and his wife.

Oprah wrote a response to Amal and George Clooney’s donation on Twitter. “I am joining forces with you and will match your $500,000 donation to ‘March For Our Lives.’ These inspiring young people remind me of the Freedom Riders of the 60s who also said we’ve had ENOUGH and our voices will be heard.”

For his part, Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele has expressed his want to use his platform for change before. “We have to use our voice,” he told the South China Morning Post in May 2017, “I don’t want to just talk about dress. The way you think is important.”

Alessandro Michele, and Gucci, have certainly put their money where their mouth is.

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