In the latest edition of what-the-f-ck news, a former employee at fashion house Versace is claiming the company has a specific way of referring to their black customers.
Christopher Sampino, a 23-year-old former employee, is suing the classic designer on the grounds that the Bay Area store he was training at in San Francisco encouraged him to partake in “discriminatory practices”.
According to Sampino, sales staff are instructed to alert other staff when a black customer enters the store by referring to them as “D410”. This is the same code Versace uses to catalogue black fabric. Sales staff are also encouraged to hold a black t shirt while they use the phrase, as not to raise suspicion.
Obviously alarmed and unhappy with this procedure, Sampino felt the need to remind his store manager “You know that I’m African-American?” Which apparently riled up his manager to the point where they conveniently “forgot” to inform him that he was due rest breaks during his shift, or provide him with login details to access his pay slips online. Sampino was fired after two weeks at the retailer because his manager felt he “[didn’t] understand luxury”.
Sampino is asking for an undisclosed amount of money in lost wages and damages. Versace denies his claims and have filed a request to dismiss the lawsuit.
Recently, a video of a black woman went viral after she was asked to leave a Victoria’s Secret store when another black woman, who she was not with, had stolen an item.