GUCCI BLACKFACE SWEATER DESIGNER,CLAIMED THE SWEATER DESIGN WAS A TRIBUTE TO LEIGH BOWERY.{PHOTOS}.

     According to sources ''The recent furor over Gucci’s “blackface” sweater led a group of outraged celebrities—Waka Flocka Flame, T.I. , Russell Simmons, Spike Lee, designer Jerry Lorenzo, and fashion icon Dapper Dan—to rally against the brand and call for a boycott. Soulja Boy, who is in the process of getting the “Gucci” tattoo removed from his forehead, announced plans to give the millions of dollars worth of Gucci gear he’s purchased over the years to charity, proclaiming, “Gucci is done.” 50 Cent posted a video of himself burning a Gucci T-shirt and says he is donating his Gucci to the homeless.

In the opposite corner of the ring: Boxing champ Floyd Mayweather went out and allegedly dropped a fortune on Gucci goods in the wake of the scandal this past Monday. Fellow pugilist Adrien Broner told TMZ sports yesterday, “I don’t care it’s just a sweater.” And rapper Kodak Black agreed, publicly stating the controversial garment was “just a little ski mask—there’s all kinds of ski masks in the world.”

Gucci quickly issued an apology, promised to increase diversity within the company,  and pulled the $890 sweater from shelves. But one question persisted: How did the garment get greenlit in the first place?.The Italian brand’s creative director, Alessandro Michele, finally answered the question yesterday in an internal memo to company employees. Acknowledging the fracas the sweater had caused, he said it was meant to be a tribute to performance-art legend Leigh Bowery (pictured below), who was known for extravagant costumes and overstated makeup.“It’s important for me to let you know that the jumper actually had very specific references, completely different from what was ascribed instead. It was a tribute to Leigh Bowery, to his camouflage art, to his ability to challenge the bourgeois conventions and conformism, to his eccentricity as a performer, to his extraordinary vocation to masquerade meant as a hymn to freedom.The fact that, contrarily to my intentions, that turtle-neck jumper evoked a racist imagery causes me the greatest grief.”

Read his letter below.

Dear Colleagues,

I feel the need to write you all these few words to give a name to the pain of these days: my own and that of the people who saw in one of my creative projects an intolerable insult.

It's important for me to let you know that the jumper actually had very specific references, completely different from what was ascribed instead. It was a tribute to Leigh Bowery, to his camouflage art, to his ability to challenge the bourgeois conventions and conformism, to his eccentricity as a performer, to his extraordinary vocation to masquerade meant as a hymn to freedom.

The fact that, contrarily to my intentions, that turtle-neck jumper evoked a racist imagery causes me the greatest grief. But I am aware that sometimes our actions can end up with causing unintentional effects. It is therefore necessary taking full accountability for these effects.

For this reason our company immediately apologized and withdraw the garment that produced such controversies. As you may have read from Marco in his letter, we are putting in place a series of immediate actions across the world that will increase inclusivity, diversity, participation and cultural awareness at any level and in any workplace. We are truly committed in facing what happened as a crucial learning moment for everybody.

I've always fought to grant myself and any other the possibility to be different. I've hardly been through this fight all over my personal life and I later brought it into my work. Here I always tried to give citizenship's right to the traditionally marginalized, to those who felt unrepresented, to those that history silenced or made believe they were worthless.My aim, in which personal and political are intimately interwoven, has always been to turn the pain into a chant. Therefore I've always worked to let alternative imageries loaded with joyful inclusion emerge. Imageries able to celebrate diversity in every form. Imageries able to favour empowerment and self-determination processes. This is who I am and these are the things I believe in.I really shelter the suffer of all I have offended. And I am heartfully sorry for this hurt. I hope I can rely on the understanding of those who know me and can acknowledge the constant tension towards the celebration of diversity that has always shaped my work. This is the only celebration I'm willing to stand for.More photos below.

  LEIGH BOWERY.