Gucci has made history this week by becoming the first luxury fashion brand to join Parks — Liberi e Uguali (which translates to “free and equal”), the Italian nonprofit organization dedicated to helping companies create strategies that support diversity. The group, which was named for civil rights legend Rosa Parks, has a particular focus on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Marco Bizzarri, Gucci’s president and chief executive officer, said in a statement, “We are extremely proud to join Parks, and we could not identify a better moment to start the partnership with this inspiring organization.” The partnership comes weeks after the brand posted a series of casting videos featuring models of color to Instagram. It left many speculating that the brand’s next campaign would have a focus on non-white talent.
Bizzarri continued that these recent moves are part of a “complete turnaround of our company” over the past two years. Referring to Gucci’s mantra of “being the voice of self-expression” he added the company’s mission was to attract, retain, and promote talent “while celebrating ethnic, age, sexual and gender diversity, sexual orientation, and gender identity.”
The commitment is reflective of efforts made by Gucci’s parent company Kering, which last September was awarded the Gender Equality European & International Standard label by the Arborus Fund and Bureau Veritas. Bucking a trend seen across large businesses, 64% of the French firm’s board is currently made up of women. At this point, you don’t need another reason to love Gucci, but this certainly leaves us feeling proud.
Credits
Text Wendy Syfret
Image via Gucci