Some distressing fashion lines history
Controversial clothing lines guide! Ahead of the 2018 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show air date, brand exec Ed Razek spoke to Vogue magazine about the annual spectacle and received plenty of criticism in return. Not only did he shade competing intimates brand ThirdLove ? which prompted founder Heidi Zak to take out a full-page, open-letter ad in The New York Times (above) ? he also implied that no one wanted to see a plus-size fashion show and didn’t think transgender models should be included on the runway because it “is a fantasy. It’s a 42-minute entertainment special.” (He later apologized for the remark.) Needless to say, plenty of folks on Twitter, including trans model Carmen Carrera, criticized both Razek and VS after the interview was published.
Alexander McQueen’s Spring/Summer 2000 Collection, “Eye”, Alexander McQueen presented his Spring/Summer 2000 collection in New York on the night of Hurricane Floyd. The show, entitled Eye, dealt with the theme of Western fears of Islam and many of the clothes in the show directly referenced traditional Islamic dress. The show was particularly controversial because it featured sexualized versions of the niqaab and featured models in burqas flying over a bed of nails that had risen from the floor during the finale.
Gigi Hadid’s Vogue Arabia Cover, While it was welcome news that Vogue launched the first-ever Arabian version of the magazine, the release was nothing short of controversial. The inaugural cover model was Gigi Hadid, who has covered almost thirty Vogue issues in her short career. The issue? Many felt that this was an opportunity to have a model from the region grace the cover rather than an American. For her part, Gigi Hadid is half-Palestinian, a point that many supporters brought up in the debate as well.
Although he was fined and ousted from Dior for his anti-semitic comments, Gaultier also created a show entitled “Chic Rabbis”, in Fall/Winter 1993. Apparently, the show was inspired by a trip to NYC where the designer encountered a group of rabbis leaving the New York Public Library. Gaultier said he loved the elegance of their dress with their hats and huge coats flapping in the wind. However, naturally, the collection came under fire for being culturally insensitive. There were also specific complaints from Hasidic groups concerning female models in the show who were wearing traditionally masculine hairstyles and clothes. And although the collection was deemed pretty culturally insensitive all round, it is also true that it struck a nerve with audiences, and succeeded in posing questions about societal groups, structures, and codes. Chic Rabbis may seem a humorous title for a collection of couture, but it certainly wasn’t without its serious ramifications.
Another outrageous fashion line is Headhunters Line, a very bold fashion line that already generated a lot of controversy. Sex, guns, scandalous message, this fashion clothing line has them all. Read extra details on The most dangerous clothing line.
