Prada, the Italian luxury fashion brand has been receiving backlash on social media for featuring a racist line of products. They were criticised after civil rights lawyer Chinyere Ezie posted a photo of a Prada shopfront in New York on Twitter with photos of "imaginary creatures". The pictures were of Prada's range of keyrings, trinkets and monkey figurines with black coloured bodies and red lips. Tweeting pictures of the trinkets, Ezie writes, "Spotted today in Soho. Thanks @Prada for making sure blackface remains live and well. #stopracism #NoExcuses #shameonyou.

Her post was quick to go viral with social media users attacking Prada for racism. Soon #BoycottPrada began to trend on Twitter as more people demanded the range of products to be pulled down. As negative reactions grew on social media, Prada had to pull down their Pradamalia that are "fantasy charms". Dolce & Gabbana Called Out for Their Racist Ad by Diet Prada, Forced to Cancel Shanghai Fashion Show.

She wrote on Facebook saying, "When I asked a Prada employee whether they knew they had plastered blackface imagery throughout their store, in a moment of surprising candor I was told that *a black employee had previously complained about blackface at Prada, but he didn’t work there anymore. History cannot continue to repeat itself. Black America deserves better. And we demand better."

Here is Chinyere Ezie's tweet:

Here is her Facebook post:

Check out Prada's response to the backlash:

While some suggested that the figures just looked like monkeys, often racist depiction of black people in the past has compared them to monkeys. As the backlash grew wider, the New York store had to take down the figures. Prada was selling the Otto-Toto keychain for USD550, wallets for USD395 and phone cases for USD 280.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 15, 2018 08:29 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).