Gucci donates Dh1.8 million to March for Our Lives to support the victims of gun violence

Alessandro Michele appears on the catwalk after his show for Gucci during the Milan Fashion Week on February 21. EPA

Caught up in the whirl of fashion week, it is sometimes easy to forget that the real world carries on regardless. As many were entranced by the runway collections of London, a gunman walked into Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and opened fire, killing 17 students and teachers.

Tragically, such senseless murders are becoming all too common in the US. During another equally appalling gun massacre in 2016 at a nightclub in Orlando, one of the 49 people murdered worked for the Italian fashion house Gucci.

And now, Gucci’s creative director Alessandro Michele has announced that the brand is donating $500,000 (Dh1.8 million) to the gun control movement that sprung up in the aftermath of the Florida school attack.

Led by students caught up in the gunfire, who are now hoping to bring about a change to the country's highly controversial gun laws, a march on Washington DC has been scheduled for March 24, entitled March for Our Lives. It has already drawn support from the likes of Amal and George Clooney, Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg.

In a statement, Michele declared: "I am truly moved by the courage of these students. 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 the US who are fighting for their generation and those to come."

In light of Gucci lending its weight to the campaign - the first fashion house to make such a donation - the brand's autumn/winter 2018 collection, shown just days ago in Milan, takes on new meaning. At the time, much was made of white models in turbans. Now, we see that we missed the point.

As it turns out, the most telling moment from the show was a model protectively cradling a baby dragon, with its eyes closed. A mythical creature, perhaps, but the message was there. We all need to do more to protect our children.

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