Gucci Donates $500K to Gun-Control March
Moved by the courage, resilience and determination of students at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School, Gucci is donating $500,000 to the gun-control march planned for Washington next month.
“We stand with March For Our Lives and the fearless students across the country who demand that their lives and safety become a priority,” the Italian fashion house said in a statement released exclusively to WWD. “We have all been directly or indirectly impacted by these senseless tragedies.”
Survivors of the massacre in Parkland, Fla., where a gunman killed 17 people on Feb. 14, are organizing the rally.
According to the Washington Post, organizers are expecting as many as 500,000 attendees at the event, citing details from an event permit application.
“I am truly moved by the courage of these students,” Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele told WWD. “My love is with them and it will be next to them on March 24. I am standing with March For Our Lives and the strong young women and men across United States who are fighting for their generation and those to come.”
On Thursday, Barack Obama tweeted: “Young people have helped lead all our great movements. How inspiring to see it again in so many smart, fearless students standing up for their right to be safe; marching and organizing to remake the world as it should be. We’ve been waiting for you. And we’ve got your backs.”
Gucci, which has become a magnet for Millennials under Michele and chief executive officer Marco Bizzarri, recently launch an ad campaign that is prescient of the movement, and a general rise in social activism.
The pre-fall advertising harks back to France circa 1968, when student marches and riots sparked popular rebellions against military and bureaucratic elites. Photographed and directed by Glen Luchford, it depicts Gucci-clad rebels occupying a university campus, passionately challenging the establishment and asking for change.
Gucci has a track record of rallying behind important causes in the early stages.
For example, in 2013 it established Chime for Change, a global campaign to raise funds and awareness for girls’ and women’s issues.
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