On January 23, designer Ulyana Sergeyenko presented her summer collection of clothes in Paris, at the High Fashion Week, which is taking place now. Western media paid more attention not to the collection itself, but to the invitation that Sergeyenko sent to her friend and founder of the international edition about the fashion and style of the Buro 24/7 Miroslav Dumas. On the envelope it was written: "To my niggaz in Paris" ("To my niggas in Paris").

Word by letter N

The day before the Miroslav show, the Duma posted an invitation to the presentation of the collection, which was sent to her by Ulyana Sergeyenko (now this post in her "Stories" was deleted). Envelope with an invitation signed personally by Sergeyenko with the words "To my niggas in Paris" and a smiley face is a reference to the title of the song Kanye West and Jay Zee "Niggas in Paris".

Both Miroslava Duma and Ulyana Sergeenko are frequent heroines of the international secular chronicle. The Duma heads the site on fashion and lifestyle Buro 24/7 (which has versions in 11 countries, from Ukraine to Australia); Sergeenko is one of the most famous and sought after in the world of Russian designers. The Duma has more than 1.5 million subscribers in the instagram. Many of them were indignant with the photograph of the Duma and the appeal of Sergeenko; women were accused of racism. One of the first to criticize the Duma was the famous American street-stylist-photographer Adam Katz Sinding. He reposted the "history" of the Duma with the words: "Seriously ?! Why such a) write b) publish? "Soding also supported the model of Naomi Campbell, who wrote to the Duma:" I hope this is not true. "

On January 23, Ulyana Sergeenko published a big post with apologies, writing that she woke up in the morning and saw numerous insults in social networks: "you deserve the worst", "die, white rubbish". She stressed that she was born in a small city in Kazakhstan, her daughter is half Armenian, and she never divided people into "white" and "black". "Kanye West is one of my favorite musicians, and" NP "(" Niggas in Paris ") is one of my favorite songs."

According to Sergeyenko, she and her friends sometimes call each other "a word for the letter N - when we want to think that we are just as cool as the guys singing this song." She stressed that the Duma "naively" published her personal note in the instagram, although both of them did not want anything bad and did not think about the consequences. This post with apologies was also adopted ambiguously. For example, The New York Times fashion reporter Matthew Schneider called him "the worst apology for cultural racism I've ever seen," and Cecilia Hardgrove, head of social networking at Teen Vogue, tweeted that she had "blood boiling" from such apologies and she was tired of "fashion girls" who believe that the love of one song gives them the right to use such words.

Popular fashion blogger of Filipino origin Brian Boy published in his instagram photo of the Duma, commenting on it: "Racism and ignorance are real. People, in the yard of 2018! I can not wait for the generator of apologies named after Lena Dunham, where you say that you are not a racist, because you know one black musician. " This post has collected more than six thousand likes.

In her column devoted to Sergeenko and the Duma, fashion editor Tyler McCall wrote: "My dear white people, once again: you can not use the word" n ". No, you can not draw yourself a blackface. You can not use people of other races as props on the set. You can not wear African braids and dreadlocks. I do not care if you are not an American and somehow think that you are excluded from this discussion about racial issues; your cultural environment is not an excuse. In the courtyard of 2018. You were warned. And if you mess up and you are pointed at it, the most correct answer is: "Forgive me. I will remember and I will not do it again ".

Later, Uliana Sergeyenko removed the post with apologies, but the designer and the publisher continued to be criticized in social networks and the press.

Strange people

The Miroslava Duma also apologized on January 23 for her post with a note by Sergeyenko. She wrote that although this is a quote from the song, the word itself is deeply offensive and she regrets that it spread it. "I deeply respect people of different origins and condemn racism and discrimination of any kind," wrote the Duma. She stressed that her company and herself support the principles of inclusiveness and diversity.

However, after that, Brian Boy published a videotape of the Miroslava Duma's lecture "Fashion in Internet Space", held in 2012, after which the Duma answered questions from listeners. In particular, she spoke about the very Brian Boy and his habit of wearing women's clothing, as well as the transgender model Andrea Pežić (in 2012, she had not done a cum-out and was known as a man who often took part in the shows and filming women's clothing) . On the recording of Miroslava, the Duma says: "To be honest, I'm not good at this, because somewhere on TV or in a magazine he can see a little boy. And, probably, it is wrong to understand this, it is wrong to react to it. I think that some kind of censorship and some kind of culture in this must be present. "

The Duma calls in the video of Brian Boy and Pezhic "strange people": "Someone else remember this? Thank God, there are not so many of them. " She stresses that she would not publish their photos on the site of Buro 24/7, as the editorial office "is very worried about the beauty and purity of our picture." "Racism and intolerance have never been great," commented Brian Boy. "I guess I'm too strange." This post was placed more than 13 thousand likes.

The fashion blog Diet Prada published a selection of photos of celebrities in the outfits of Ulyana Sergeyenko, waving them, with the words: "And here are some of her prominent clients who probably have something to say about it." Among them - Rihanna, Kim Kardashian, actress, activist and daughter of Diana Ross Tracy Ellis Ross and model Chrissie Taygen. And magazine W reminded that in 2014 the site of Miroslava Duma Buro 24/7 was heavily criticized for shooting the founder of the museum "Garage" Daria Zhukova, where she sits on the chair in the form of a black woman.

Despite the apologies of Miroslava Duma, she was dismissed from the board of directors of the online store for mothers and children, The Tot, whose co-founder she is. The company said it was "deeply shocked" by an offensive and racist post published by the Miroslava Duma, and it does not in any way reflect the position of The Tot. "Whether this is a cultural reference or not, racism is inadmissible in any form, even if it is accidental and unconscious," the publication noted.

This position was supported by the second co-founder of The Tot, Nasiba Adilova: "I am very upset and disappointed with the deed of Miroslava Duma. We in the company never tolerated racism or discrimination. Power and influence are privileges, and they require modesty. "