These Brands Made 2018 Hard…for Themselves
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Fans of pop sweetheart, Selena Gomez took to the internet to express their outrage when Stefano Gabbana, one half of the Italian high fashion brand, Dolce and Gabbana thought it wise to call her ugly on Instagram. It does seem like Gabbana feeds off controversy, as he really had no business making those ridiculous comments. What’s more, one would think his business would suffer for it, but as we’ve come to know, the fashion industry never seems to mind.
Controversies are very common in the world of high fashion. We’re not even done with 2018 and already, and these brands have got themselves stuck in quite the quagmire already.
Dolce and Gabbana
Stefano Gabbana, of Dolce and Gabbana, wound up in a rabbit hole when he took it upon himself to scrutinize Selena Gomez’s looks on social media.
Gabbana and his colleague Domenico Dolce have a background marked by making hostile comments about rape, gay families (despite being gay), and IVF. They also get a lot of flack for continuing to support and dress First Lady Melania Trump.
Often when a celeb or brand makes a problematic statement, there’s a movement to boycott them. Well….D&G started their own as a way to mock (and monopolize off of) by selling their own “Boycott Dolce and Gabbana” t-shirt for $295.
Kat Von D Beauty
Kat Von D, the high profile tattoo artist sparked up a controversy on the internet, earlier this week, when she made a post on Instagram that many believed to be anti-vaccination views. Subsequently, some people believed that her comments would be detrimental to her brand.
In response to the uproar, Von D debunked the notion that she was an anti-vaxxer, saying “Our personal medical records are no one’s business, and why we would feel it important for us to explore all our options when it comes to vaccinating our child, is also no one’s business – regardless of what I post on Instagram,”
Yeezy
Kanye received a lot of backlash for his comments on both TMZ and on SNL, calling slavery “a choice”, and his public praise for Donald Trump including wearing a MAGA hat during his SNL appearance. The internet went crazy, calling West out on social media, and even asking that Adidas severe their ties with his Yeezy brand.
Adidas released a comment saying they did not approve of West’s comments, but they did not intend to stop working with him.
Karl Lagerfeld
Chanel’s designer, Karl Lagerfeld has been making a lot of controversial comments about sensitive topics for a considerable amount of time.
In an interview with Numero magazine back in April, he said this about the Me Too movement: “I’m fed up with it … What shocks me most in all of this are the starlets who have taken 20 years to remember what happened,” he said. “Not to mention the fact there are no prosecution witnesses.”
H&M
Earlier this year, Swedish fashion company H&M thought it wise to feature an image of a black kid putting on a shirt that read “Coolest Monkey in the Jungle.” It goes without saying that the expression ‘monkey’ has a long-standing history as a ‘racial’ slur.
Various high profile celebrities communicated their displeasure with the brand on the internet, even though the kid’s mother did not have any problems with it. H&M reacted to the backlash by hiring a global diversity leader.
Zara
Zara has a history of cultural appropriation accusations and flat out imitation, so it came as no shock to anyone when it happened again earlier this year.
Many internet users brought up the fact that the brand’s “check mini skirt” looks a lot like a lungi, worn mostly by men in South Asia and Arab. What’s more, the Zara skirt retailed for $90, while lungl’s can be purchased in India for less than a dollar.
This was undoubtedly a moment to forget for Zara this year.