Tag Archives: announce-black

Ex-Versace Employee Claims Stores Use Secret Code To Announce Black Customers If there was ever any evidence that respectability politics will not lead you to white heaven… Well-to-do black folks (and some of y’all who just spend money you ain’t got) have been lining Versace’s pockets with money for YEARS, but according to TMZ , the retail stores that peddle Gianni’s fine fabrics may not be so keen on us. A former employee reveals that when black customers walk into the store, the staff would use a secret code to announce his or her presence. The man worked in a Bay Area store, and in a lawsuit says a manager told him about a store code called “D410,” which was used to casually let co-workers know a black person was present — as in, we got a D410 in menswear. BTW … that’s the code for all black shirts in Versace stores … according to the suit. The employee says he shocked the manager by responding, “You know that I’m African-American?” After cracking the code, the employee says he was no longer given required breaks and was fired 2 weeks later. The reason for firing? He hadn’t “lived the luxury life”. Right. It comes as no surprise that Versace denies being bigots. Image via YouTube

More:
Versace, Versace: Bougie Retails Accused Of Using Code To Announce Black Shoppers