(WWJ) While fashion may be in the eye of the beholder, many people reacting to a controversial catwalk show in New York seem to agree it was not OK.
Models were asked to wear large prosthetic ears, oversized black or red lips and massive bushy fake eyebrows along with clothing items in fashion line presented by college students at an event in Manhattan.
The accessories were heavily criticized on social media after, according to reports, an African-American model in the show refused to wear the "clearly racist" items.
In a statement posted on Instagram on Tuesday, Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) president Joyce F. Brown said she does not believe the items in question were intentionally racist.
However, she said the school is "actively investigating how this happened."
"Currently does not appear that the original intent of the design, the use of accessories or the creative direction of the show was to make a statement about race," Brown said.
"However, it is now glaringly obvious that has been the outcome. For that, we apologize — to those who participated in the show, to students, and to anybody who has been offended by what they saw."
The Fashion Institute of Technology is a public college focusing on art, business, design and technology related to the fashion industry. The school's Fine Art Of Fashion And Technology Show was held at Pier 59 Studios in New York, New York on February 7.
