top 5: fashion faux pas
Sometimes, they just get it wrong.
Where there's smoke, it can usually be traced back to a fashion-fuelled fire. While we all know the industry is no stranger to slip-ups, it would seem that this week has seen an above average amount of offensive campaigns, scandals and unintended racism. Anyone would think John Galliano is out on the vodkas again. One can take comfort in knowing those at the head of fashion houses are human too, and spend a lot of time wading through a sea of political-incorrectness. Here are five brands that have recently displayed some not-so-fashion-forward behavior.
1. Urban Outfitters: If you've ever been tempted to use an underage model for a shoot involving motorbikes and ridiculously tiny pants, let Urban Outfitters' latest scandal stand as proof that the past always catches up with you. A year after then-15-year-old Hailey Clauson posed for the American label, her parents have decided to sue for releasing the photos without their permission. The photos are decidedly "suggestive", which doesn't exactly work the company's favor.
2. Vogue: The website for Vogue Italia has copped some (well-deserved) flak for their feature on "slave earrings":
"If the name brings to the mind the decorative traditions of the women of colour who were brought to the southern Unites States during the slave trade, the latest interpretation is pure freedom. Colored stones, symbolic pendants and multiple spheres. And the evolution goes on."
From what I can gather, the term "latest interpretation" was thrown in with the intended purpose of neutralizing all offensive connotations, or something to that effect.
3. Nivea: Whoever passed the skin-care company's latest campaign needs a firm lesson in political correctness. While we're not entirely sure how a picture of a well-presented black man holding an unkempt version of his own head with the words "Re-civilize Yourself" plastered over the top made it out of the office, we do know it didn't go down very well.
4. American Apparel: Dov Charney is highly skilled at making a name for himself, and then tarnishing it with all manner of sex scandals. In light of recent events, the latest American Apparel T-Shirt, featuring the slogan "teenagers do it better" is confusing to say the least. The t-shirt and controversial slogan can either be interpreted as a blatant 'fuck you' to all those placing the brand under scrutiny, or as evidence of Dov Charney having absolutely no decorum whatsoever. We look forward to see how this one unfolds.
5. Chanel: It wouldn't be a fashion faux-pas top 5 without some reference, however fleeting, to the Nazis. In a new book by a Paris-based American historian suggests Chanel not only had a wartime affair with a German aristocrat and spy, but that she herself was also an anti-Semite and a Nazi spy. Fantastic. The house of Chanel has been staunchly defending claims made against their Mother Superior this week, encouraging discretion when consuming the volumes of literature about Ms. Chanel.
