Last December, the The Fashion Vibes website published extensive material written by Fatima Aliyeva, administrator of the Telegram channel “Perenyushki & Co”, examining the global phenomenon of cancel culture in the fashion industry. The author cited scandals with John Galliano, Kanye West, Demna Gvasalia and even Karl Lagerfeld as examples, and then analyzed the reasons for such a harsh attitude of the public towards designers. As a result, we had to agree on the idea that fashion houses cannot resist Cancel Culture, but they can adapt, limit creativity (unfortunately) and adapt to the demands of the majority.
True, few people manage to follow such a simple path. That’s why scandals never leave the fashion arena. Almost every week, Internet users deal with the difficult task of blaming, canceling, and patronizing people they dislike.
Since we are approaching the end of 2023, we decided to take stock of fashion and remember the biggest scandals in the industry in the last 12 months.
Campaign with Zara and models
Maybe let’s start from the end. In early December, Zara released The Jacket ad campaign starring Kristen McMenamy and, as they say, they ran into trouble. It’s all about the campaign’s set design; The Zara team decided to wrap the mannequins in bags and seal them with tape, paying homage to the unfinished sculptures in the workshop. True, the result looked a little different. Many Internet users felt that the mass-market giant was mocking the death during the conflict between Israel and Hamas. The Zara team had already made a statement by sharing a post on a banned social network. “The campaign was conceived in July and shot in September. Representatives expressed that Zara regrets this misunderstanding and reiterates her deepest respect to everyone.
Scandal of two brothers
The next scandal on our list is marked “family”. This October, Demna Gvasalia showed off his new Balenciaga collection as part of Paris Fashion Week. Renata Litvinova, football player Nadya Karpova and Demna’s mother Ella attended the show and made a big splash at the event. True, after some time, a post appeared on social networks in which Guram Gvasalia said that his brother did not invite him to the show. She also includes a photo of two nearly identical dresses and accuses Balenciaga of plagiarism.
Doja Cat and a very uncomfortable dress
No matter how hard Victoria’s Secret tries to get back into the fashion arena, scandals continue to haunt the brand. So, in August, the team announced Doja Cat as the ambassador and headliner of the Victoria’s Secret VS World Tour comeback show. And a month later, a nightmare happened on a global scale (at least in terms of the brand’s reputation). Doja Cat attended the event wearing a dress from the brand and then posted several Stories on a banned social network about how uncomfortable and downright bad the collection was. And the rapper didn’t skimp on his biting words. However, the scandal was covered up fairly quickly, but its residue remained.
Instead of Dior and Bella Hadid
Here is another scandal related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A new holiday campaign for the Dior cosmetics line was released at the beginning of November. However, this time, not Bella Hadid, but Israeli model May Tager starred. Of course, social media users immediately started writing comments in favor of canceling Dior. The hashtag #BoycottDior even appeared online. True, nothing came of this, since no one wanted to remove or remove Bella, her contract with the brand ended. And not this year, but in 2021. The result is a situation codenamed “too much noise about nothing.”
Mowalola and a very dangerous skirt
Mowalola is one of the most provocative young brands. And every collection is proof of this. But in September this year, designers crossed this line. What’s the problem? At the fashion show within the scope of London Fashion Week, skirts with the flags of different countries, including Saudi Arabia, were introduced. Let us remind you that in Saudi Arabia, the image of the country’s flag on any clothing item is prohibited at the state level. Muslims perceived this clothing as a provocation and an insult. As a result, the brand apologized and removed the skirt from the collection.
Valentino and shameless plagiarism
In July this year, the Valentino couture collection was shown, in which we saw beaded faux jeans, shoes with romantic bows, ornately shaped glasses and unusual head decorations. However, a scandal broke out the next day. Young Korean brand Maison Kimhekim accused Valentino of plagiarism and published a post on a banned social network that clearly showed collages directly borrowed from Valentino designers, from identical ballet flats with bows to sunglasses. “We don’t think they copied our ideas. But we cannot hide our true disappointment when a major global conglomerate launches products very similar to the best-selling products of 2021. Many people sent us this information with words of support. And we thank you. “We would like to state our mission to be a global house with a special department that can care for and protect young creatives,” reads the official message of the Kimhekim team. By the way, it is also worth noting that the Valentino team did not react to these accusations.
Stella MacCartney and her love of horses
At Paris Fashion Week this March, Stella McCartney decided to really surprise the guests of her fashion show. The designer dedicated his collection to his love of animals and held the show in a barn. Models paraded on a makeshift catwalk, followed by wild horses who were supposed to perform. The show really turned out to be incredibly spectacular, but not everyone was happy.
Horses were even used as decorations and were jumped a few meters away from the models, accompanied by loud music. Firstly, this creates a lot of stress for the animals, and secondly, horses can get scared and damage the models. Therefore, the day after the show, the brand faced a wave of hate. People wrote angry comments saying “animals are not ornaments”. True, the brand team responded in time and wrote a post stating that the horses are under the control of a specially trained person and obey only him. In the next post, it is stated that the brand does not use animal skin in its collections. Protect yourself 100%.
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Source: People Talk
Elizabeth Cabrera is an author and journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a talent for staying up-to-date on the latest news and trends, Elizabeth is dedicated to delivering informative and engaging articles that keep readers informed on the latest developments.
