Luxury fashion brand Prada is facing backlash and accusations of portraying blackface in a window display in Manhattan.

"I said, 'Do you have any black employees? Did you talk to anyone before you began this campaign?' And someone in candor said, 'You know, we did have a black employee who told us this was blackface, but he doesn't work here anymore.' That really stunned me," said Chinyere Ezie, who expressed her concerns to employees over the display.

People say these figures in the storefront display in SoHo depict racist imagery.

The store removed the display by Friday. Jumanne Williams, a Brooklyn city councilman and public advocate candidate, and protesters rallied outside the store and denounced Prada.

In a statement, Prada said, "Prada Group abhors racist imagery. The Pradamalia are fantasy charms composed of elements of the Prada oeuvre. They are imaginary creatures not intended to have any reference to the real world and certainly not blackface."