11 Fashion Controversies That Sparked Passionate Debate
For as long as there has been a fashion industry, there have been fashion controversies.
To be sure, taking risks is a necessity when it comes to the always-evolving art of design, but some key players in the fashion world have stood accused of pushing certain boundaries all too far. Their questionable choices have often become springboards for complicated discussions of cultural appropriation, beauty standards, race and everything in-between.
These moments in particular definitely got people talking — and arguing — about how these complex issues can and do play out on runways and fashion spreads.
Vogue “misses the mark” with editorial about gender fluidity.
“It” couple Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik definitely made a splash when they posed together for the magazine’s August 2017 cover, but the response was not all positive.
Their spread’s photos and accompanying article were meant to highlight gender fluid fashion, but critics accused Vogue of misusing the term “gender fluid” and thus misrepresenting actual gender non-conforming and transgender individuals.
“I like that shirt. And if it’s tight on me, so what? It doesn’t matter if it was made for a girl,” Malik said in the story about wearing a T-shirt from his girlfriend’s closet. Added Hadid, ”It’s not about gender. It’s about, like, shapes. And what feels good on you that day. And anyway, it’s fun to experiment.”
Vogue issued an apology in a statement to PEOPLE following the backlash. “The story was intended to highlight the impact the gender-fluid, non-binary communities have had on fashion and culture,” a spokeswoman wrote. “We are very sorry the story did not correctly reflect that spirit — we missed the mark. We do look forward to continuing the conversation with greater sensitivity.”
Kendall Jenner accused of trivializing Black Lives Matter movement in Pepsi ad.
Though not technically fashion, the soda brand continued its tradition of featuring supermodels (à la Cindy Crawford) and picked Jenner to star in a 2017 ad in which she bridges the gap between cops and protestors with a can of Pepsi.
Immediately the Internet was set ablaze, with many criticizing Pepsi for suggesting racial and social issues could be solved with a drink. Martin Luther King Jr.’s daughter Bernice even Tweeted, sharing a photo of her father being pushed by police during a peaceful protest with the caption, “If only Daddy would have known about the power of #Pepsi.”
Pepsi at first stood by the ad, saying, “This is a global ad that reflects people from different walks of life coming together in a spirit of harmony, and we think that’s an important message to convey.” But the company later pulled it, apologizing for “making light of any serious issue” and apologizing to Jenner, as well.
The ad came around the same time as two other racially insensitive campaigns, one from skincare line Nivea that had the tagline “White Is Purity,” and another from Tory Burch that featured three white models dancing to the hip hop song “JuJu on That Beat” by black rappers Zay Hilfigerrr and Zayion McCall. Both brands pulled their ads and apologized.
Karlie Kloss dresses as a geisha in Vogue.
Accusations of yellowface followed Kloss’s appearance in a Japanese-inspired spread for the fashion magazine’s March 2017 diversity-themed issue.
In the spread, titled “Spirited Away,” Kloss wears traditional geisha garments, powdery makeup and a nihongami wig. Shots include her posing alongside a sumo wrestler and in front of a tea house.
Karlie Kloss is under fire for culture appropriation after the release of her March 2017 Vogue US photoshoot. Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/Nm9N523Y2G
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) February 15, 2017
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Vogue removed the photos from their site in response to the uproar, as the supermodel posted an apology to Twitter.
— Karlie Kloss (@karliekloss) February 15, 2017
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“These images appropriate a culture that is not my own and I am truly sorry for participating in a shoot that was not culturally sensitive. My goal is, and always will be, to empower and inspire women. I will ensure my future shoots and projects reflect that mission,” she wrote.
Marc Jacobs includes dreadlocks in his New York Fashion Week show.
Kendall Jenner, Gigi Hadid, Karlie Kloss and a host of other supermodels strutted down the runway sporting technicolor dreadlocks for the designer’s fall 2016 show.
At first, Jacobs defended his decision to feature the hand-dyed wool extensions. “@radical.lizeth and @emmelephant And all who cry ‘cultural appropriation’ or whatever nonsense about any race of skin color wearing their hair in a particular style or manner – funny how you don’t criticize women of color for straightening their hair. I respect and am inspired by people and how they look. I don’t see color or race- I see people. I’m sorry to read that so many people are so narrow minded.… Love is the answer. Appreciation of all and inspiration from anywhere is a beautiful thing. Think about it,” he wrote on Instagram.
But the designer posted a new message a few days later after reflecting on the matter further, writing, “I’ve read all your comments…and I thank you for expressing your feelings. I apologize for the lack of sensitivity unintentionally expressed by my brevity. I wholeheartedly believe in freedom of speech and freedom to express oneself though art, clothes, words, hair, music…EVERYTHING. Of course I do ‘see’ color but I DO NOT discriminate. THAT IS A FACT! Please continue to express your feelings freely but do it kindly. Nothing is gained from spreading hate by name calling and bullying.”
A post shared by Marc Jacobs (@themarcjacobs) on Sep 18, 2016 at 10:42am PDT
Kylie Jenner appears in a wheelchair in Interview.
Social media users criticized the reality star and Interview magazine when she posed in a wheelchair for their 2015 Art issue.
“It’s deeply disturbing,” Emily Smith Beitiks, associate director of the Paul K. Longmore Institute on Disability in San Francisco, told CNN of her reaction to the shoot. “People with disabilities are already seen as powerless, and this just reinforces that.”
As someone in a wheelchair @KylieJenner @InterviewMag, this is offensive. My chair is not haute couture. pic.twitter.com/y3sBaiJzIH
— Jessica Jewett Jones (@JJ9828) December 1, 2015
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In a statement to PEOPLE, the magazine defended their choice to use a wheelchair as a way of exploring themes of subjectivity and power.
“At Interview, we are proud of our tradition of working with great artists and empowering them to realize their distinct and often bold visions. The Kylie Jenner cover by Steven Klein, which references the British artist Allen Jones, is a part of this tradition, placing Kylie in a variety of positions of power and control and exploring her image as an object of vast media scrutiny,” they explained.
“Throughout the Art Issue, we celebrate a variety of women who are both the creators and subjects of their artistic work, and the Kylie feature aims to unpack Kylie’s status as both engineer of her image and object of attention,” the statement continued. “Our intention was to create a powerful set of pictures that get people thinking about image and creative expression, including the set with the wheelchair, but our intention was certainly not to offend anyone.”
A number of wheelchair users challenged the magazine by recreating the shoot. Among them was model Lauren Wassar, who has a prosthetic leg.
real life – @theimpossiblemuse 💯?? 📸@fotofetish
A post shared by Lauren Wasser (@theimpossiblemuse) on Dec 3, 2015 at 10:24pm PST
“So where are OUR magazine covers?” Annie Elainey, another re-creator, wrote on Tumblr. “For me, the most ignorant part about this shoot was that it was about how she was ‘bound’ to fame, ‘limited’ by fame…A wheelchair is FREEDOM, not imprisonment. SOCIETY and it’s lack of care for access is what limits me, NOT the chair.”
Karlie Kloss wears a Native American-style headdress at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion show.
Kloss’s latest controversy isn’t the first time she’s been condemned for cultural appropriation. In 2012, she wore a floor-length Native-American inspired headdress, moccasins, and fringed lingerie at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.
CBS removed the offensive look from the show’s broadcast following backlash, and Kloss issued an apology on Twitter.
I am deeply sorry if what I wore during the VS Show offended anyone. I support VS's decision to remove the outfit from the broadcast.
— Karlie Kloss (@karliekloss) November 11, 2012
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“I am deeply sorry if what I wore during the VS Show offended anyone. I support VS’s decision to remove the outfit from the broadcast,” she tweeted.
Nykhor Paul calls-out the fashion world for its treatment of black models.
In 2015, the South Sudanese beauty drew attention to the industry’s failure to treat dark-skinned models professionally .
A post shared by Nykhor-Nyakueinyang Paul 🇸🇸🇺🇸 (@nykhor) on Jul 6, 2015 at 9:55am PDT
“Dear white people in the fashion world! Please don’t take this the wrong way but it’s time you people get your s— right when it comes to our complexion! Why do I have to bring my own makeup to a professional show when all the other white girls don’t have to do anything but show up wtf! Don’t try to make me feel bad because I am blue black its 2015 go to Mac, Bobbi Brown, Makeup forever, Iman cosmetic, black opal, even Lancôme and Clinique carried them plus so much more,” she wrote on Instagram.
“Just because you only book a few of us doesn’t mean you have the right to make us look ratchet. I’m tired of complaining about not getting book as a black model and I’m definitely super tired of apologizing for my blackness!!!!” she added.
“Why can’t we be part of fashion fully and equally?”
Kanye West issues a casting call for “multiracial women only.”
Many questioned the implications of a casting call for West’s Yeezy Season 4 show that the designer shared on Twitter. The call-out requested “multiracial women only.”
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) September 3, 2016
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Critics on social media and elsewhere were both confused and angered by the casting call, with some accusing West of trying to exclude dark-skinned black women from his show.
Multiracial = ethnically ambiguous = Amber Rose-ish = Kardashian-y = mixed = no Black women allowed.
— Alejandro NIGlesias (@AlejandroDaGr8) September 3, 2016
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Hmm @ multiracial women only.
Does that include the dark skinned multiracial women or just the light skinned ones? https://t.co/wtExXS0DvO
— Paige Matthews (@WickedBeaute) September 3, 2016
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One woman who protested at that casting explained her issues with the call on her Tumblr, writing, “This casting call for “Multiracial ONLY” (not MULTIETHNIC which would still be fetishization) asserts that Black can only be beautiful when “MIXED” with another RACE. There is a history of wanting to dilute the Blackness of one’s children because of the longstanding stigmatization of Blackness.”
The rapper stood by his actions, telling Vogue, “The ten thousand people that showed up didn’t have a problem with it…How do you word the idea that you want all variations of black? How do you word that exactly?”
The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show features Asian-inspired lingerie.
In a since-deleted op-ed for Cosmopolitan titled “Why Can’t Victoria’s Secret Stop Designing Racist Lingerie,” writer Helin Jung took aim at the undergarment company for the appropriative looks on display at their 2016 show.
“Stripping of cultures aside, the emblems that stood out most were the ones that came from Asia — specifically China,” Jung wrote, according to Mic.com. “The dragon that Elsa Hosk wore wrapped around her body, the embroidered stiletto boots seen on Adriana Lima, the tail made of flames worn by Kendall Jenner.”
“There’s a lot of talk of China as a dominant world power of the 21st century, and the U.S. government, Hollywood, and now Victoria’s Secret, it seems, are pivoting to face a new reality. But the Orientalism on display here doesn’t show an understanding or an attempt at dialogue. It doesn’t close any gaps,” Jung continued.
“The brand and its creative leads shamelessly cherry-picked imagery, breaking apart aesthetic references from wherever they wanted and stitching them back together again. They’re telling us its worldliness. It’s not, it’s a hack job.”
Leslie Jones says designers won’t dress her for the Ghostbusters premiere.
Jones struggled to find a designer willing to work with her ahead of the July 2016 premiere of the Ghostbusters reboot.
It's so funny how there are no designers wanting to help me with a premiere dress for movie. Hmmm that will change and I remember everything
— Leslie Jones (@Lesdoggg) June 28, 2016
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“It’s so funny how there are no designers wanting to help me with a premiere dress for movie. Hmmm that will change and I remember everything,” she wrote on Twitter.
Designer Christian Siriano stepped in to help Jones prepare for the glam night, and noted that he shouldn’t be celebrated for working with women of diverse sizes.
It shouldn't be exceptional to work with brilliant people just because they're not sample size. Congrats aren't in order, a change is.
— Christian Siriano (@CSiriano) June 29, 2016
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Vogue is accused of publishing a racially insensitive cover starring LeBron James and Gisele Bündchen.
In April 2008, the basketball star and the supermodel inspired heated conversations with a cover photo that some people viewed as perpetuating racial stereotypes.
In the photo, James is seen dribbling a basketball and making an aggressive facial expression as a windblown Bündchen smiles in his arm. Critics believed the shot was reminiscent of 1930s-era promotional pieces for King Kong.
James himself was unfazed by the controversy. “Everything my name is on is going to be criticized in a good way or bad way,” he told USA Today. “Who cares what anyone says?”
