After causing an international uproar by sending what many deem to be racist imagery down their runway, Dolce & Gabanna have responded indirectly to the firestorm through their style blog Swide.

The Spring 2013 collection of the beloved fashion house included ‘Blackamoor’ or ‘Moorish’ symbolism in the form of the heads of black women used in dangling earrings and on the printed fabrics of dresses. For many observers, these iconic emblems of colonialism and slavery were reminiscent of an era of Western history most people are trying to forget. Despite this, Dolce & Gabanna tried to explain that for Sicilians these colorful echoes of Blackamoor decorative arts are merely part of the culture of their native land.

Despite this, the relationship between this use of black people in decorative arts and stereotypes such as Mammy, Sambo, and the dehumanizing Golliwogg doll cannot be denied. The use of people of African decent as fashionable accents is seen by most to be demeaning, particularly because the practice originated during an age when such people were considered inferior.