A fashion college based in New York City has apologized after a catwalk show it organized was condemned as racist.

The Fashion Institute of Technology said it was investigating why models were asked to wear prosthetic ears, lips and bushy eyebrows for the showcase of fashion student designs in front of an audience of around 100 people in Manhattan.

Amy Lefevre, an African American model, said she refused to wear the “clearly racist” items for the event, which was staged on 7 February. Lefevre told the New York Post that she expressed her concerns at the show but was told by organizers “it was fine to feel uncomfortable for only 45 seconds”.

Following an online outcry over the event, Joyce Brown, president of the Fashion Institute of Technology, said in a statement she recognized there was an “unfortunate and disturbing reaction” to the use of exaggerated ears, lips and eyebrows.

Brown said the show was not intended to be about race but added: “Regrettably, we failed in this instance to recognize a creative statement that could have negative consequences.”

Jonathan Kyle Farmer, chair of the modern fine arts fashion design course which ran the show, has apologized directly to Lefevre.

“It was never our intent for the show’s styling to be interpreted as racist or to make people feel uncomfortable but I now fully understand why this has happened,” he said.

“I take full responsibility and am committed to learning from this situation and taking steps to do better. Again, I apologize.”