Vogue is a brand that has plenty of experience with insensitivity: American Vogue published a puff piece on the Syrian first couple just as uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East were heating up, French Vogue published a blackface editorial and a piece with children dressed and made up as adults (the latter may have been behind Carine Roitfeld’s departure), but we’ve always held out a bit more hope for Vogue Italia.

Not only for the groundbreaking all Black model issue, which sought to highlight the lack of diversity on runways and in magazine spreads (and went on to sell more copies than any other issue to date), but because of the seeming commitment to carry a more inclusive take on fashion on a regular basis. Even though it was only online, Vogue Italia gave the web Vogue Black and Vogue Curvy, which celebrated two frequently sidelined groups in fashion. It even managed to do it by tapping some of our favorite fashion bloggers in a smart way – very ahead of the curve.

So it’s extra disturbing to see how they’ve handled a feature on hoop earrings.

Yesterday, Jezebel picked up on a piece that originally appeared in Vogue Italia’s jewelry section in March 2010. The title? “Slave Earrings.”

While the headline is enough to offend to start with, it’s the original writeup that really stinks.

“Jewellery has always flirted with circular shapes, especially for use in making earrings. The most classic models are the slave and creole styles in gold hoops.

If the name brings to mind the decorative traditions of the women of colour who were brought to the southern United States during the slave trade, the latest interpretation is pure freedom. Colored stones, symbolic pendants and multiple spheres. And the evolution goes on.”

-Anna Bassi for Vogue Gioiello

First “jewellery has always flirted with circular shapes”? That’s like saying books have always flirted with paper. Moving on, while there may be some historical accuracy to the shape of “slave and creole” earrings being hoops, we’re pretty darn sure they weren’t a welcome gift from kindly plantation owners who brought them over for tea and fireside chats.

While historical origins are historical origins, there are some things that will never be in fashion. Involuntary slavery is one of those things. There’s a reason military styles aren’t described as “fascist fashion” and gold stars aren’t presented to people as “gas chamber chic.”

Vogue has since backpedaled and changed the headline to “Ethnic Earrings” and completely removed the writeup, after previously editing it to remove specific references to slavery. Still, is it any better?

Fashionista points out that “itâ€s equally frightening that the high fashion magazine, would find the two words–slave and ethnic–interchangeable.” So no, not really any better.

While we’re not sure of the exact type, earrings and ear piercing date back to ancient Greece, and are even mentioned in the Bible in various contexts (one of which is in reference to slaves), so which “ethnicity” are we talking about? Ancient Jewish people? Ancient Greeks? Perhaps Ancient Germans, considering a quick stop at Wikipedia turns up a pretty old looking hoop from the 6th or 7th century (that pre-dates American slavery, in case your math is off) that was discovered at the grave of a girl from the Alamannic (Germanic) tribe.

The most recent statement on the article reads

“WE’VE DECIDED TO REMOVE THE ARTICLE FROM THE SITE TO PROVE OUR GOOD FAITH AND TO SHOW IT WASN’T OUR INTENTION TO INSULT ANYONE.”

And a simple update to title the piece “Circular Earrings” would be nice too.

Google Italy

The first, is the conviction of 3 Google executives in a case involving a video uploaded to Google Video in 2006. The video showed an autistic boy being bullied by classmates, and was removed from the service once complaints were raised. A Milan judge ruled that the Google employees were responsible for violating the privacy of the boy who was the subject of the video, and sentenced them to 6-months in jail.

Essentially, the ruling holds community sites responsible for any uploaded content, even if they had no role in uploading the content – a ruling that goes against many others and risks setting a dangerous precedent. While Google certainly has privacy issues (perhaps you’ve heard of a little thing called Buzz), this is akin to suing the phone company if you receive a prank call.

In countries where there’s even less freedom of speech, analysts are starting to worry that this is a slippery slope to more restricted internet freedoms. {Wired}

Vogue Italia

But yesterday wasn’t all bad news as far as the Italian internet goes. Vogue Italia, who famously published a best selling edition featuring all black models – including plus sized Toccara of America’s Next Top Model, relaunched their website. {StyleList} The new home of the Italian Vogue edition (they formerly shared space with Italian Vanity Fair and Glamour at Style.it), features dedicated sections titled Vogue Talents, Vogue Black and Vogue Curvy.

The Talents section focuses on emerging and breakthrough designers, with the main slide dedicated to Rodarte. With a Target collaboration, CFDA award and many other honors under their belt, the Mulleavy sisters aren’t exactly new, but for those who don’t follow fashion intently they don’t have the name or brand recognition of say, Marc Jacobs. We also get a look at Danish designer Johanne Andersen and London based Dutch designer Michael van der Ham, a recent graduate of Central Saint Martin’s Masters’ program.

Some people have looked at the other two sections with a bit of skepticism. {She Finds} Do curvy and black women really need their own section? {the Cut} Why not just make them part of general coverage?

Yes, it would be nice if more magazines and their websites resembled Benetton ads. However, the decision to dedicate regular, ongoing coverage to two groups you’re unlikely to find prominently represented in any other Vogue around the world (magazine or website) is at least a step in the right direction. While most other fashion magazines applaud themselves for using the “curvy” size 4 Lara Stone, Franca Sozzani and her team at Vogue Italia seem to walk the walk for diversifying fashion more than any other magazine going.

In an ideal world, media would be a diverse representation of the world and beautiful women of all skin colors and body shapes would be chosen to represent products to an audience. We don’t live in an ideal world, and it’s nice to see that in a country where a judge has decided to hold a company responsible for the content its users upload, another company could on the same day give a voice to two groups who are underrepresented not just in Italy, but in many countries around the world.