Photo: Instagram
Did we forget about D&G's controversies?
By Megan Hatch — Written on May 23, 2022
Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker's lavish Italian wedding and the lead-up to it has been nothing short of a fashion show.
The famous reality TV family sported Dolce & Gabbana throughout the celebrations, with the brand confirming that they were hosting the couple's third wedding ceremony.
However, fans and critics of the Kardashians were surprised to see them support a brand that has mainly been "canceled" due to their controversial past.
What did Dolce and Gabbana do? Why is the fashion brand 'canceled'?
There are many reasons why Dolce & Gabbana have and should be canceled for their problematic past involving racism, fat-shaming, homophobia, and delegitimizing sexual harassment.
Dolce & Gabbana made sexist 'gang rape' ads and claimed sexual harassment isn't violence.
Dolce & Gabbana have a whole list of bad things they have done and this might be at the start of the timeline. In 2007, Dolce & Gabbana shot an ad series in Spain which took the term "sex sells" to a whole other level.
In one of the ads, a woman in a Dolce & Gabbana dress was pinned down by the wrists of a male model straddling over her while a group of men watches.
It regained public attention in 2015 and not soon after the ad was resurfaced, Gabbana made comments about sexual harassment, claiming it's not violence.
He told Vogue UK, “It’s not new!” Gabbana said before adding, "It’s not violence, this. Who doesn’t do sex? Who doesn’t? It’s a trend. Now the trend is sex. But sex is an old story. We are Italian. We came from the Roman Empire. We know very well.”
Dolce & Gabbana featured racist Blackamoor prints in their Spring/Summer 2013 collection.
In 2012, Dolce & Gabbana's Spring/Summer 2013 collection hit the runway featuring “Blackamoor” earrings and prints referencing colonialism and the racist “Mammy” archetype.
There wasn’t a single black model in Dolce & Gabbana’s show and the print included what you might recognize as Aunt Jemima dolls — a character derived from minstrel shows.
D&G once again tried to defend themselves by saying the depictions were “elements of traditional Sicilian culture” and the imagery was inspired by Sicilian artwork.
Clearly, Gabbana didn't learn from that, as the year after Gabbana was photographed in a jungle-themed outfit with his arm around designer Alessandro Dell'Acqua who wore blackface at a ‘Disco Africa’ Halloween Party.
Dolce & Gabbana have a history of anti-Asian racism.
In 2012 Dolce & Gabbana forbid Hong Kong residents from taking photos outside or inside their flagship store to protect their “intellectual property”.
This caused public outrage as foreign tourists and residents from mainland China were excluded from the photo ban.
Their problems didn't stop there as in April 2017, Dolce & Gabbana posted a campaign on Weibo that showed D&G models featured with impoverished people in run-down areas of Beijing.
Then in November 2018, they posted another series of social media posts on Weibo intended to promote their 2019 resort fashion show in Shanghai — #DGLovesChina.
One video included Asian model, Zuo Ye, struggling to eat traditional Italian food with chopsticks, which was deemed culturally insensitive.
The video also included stereotypical Chinese music in the background, as the model struggled to eat a cannoli while the narrator asked, “Is it too huge for you?” and even mispronounced the brand’s name, which mocked the way Chinese people say Dolce & Gabbana.
Things didn't stop there as images arose from Stefano Gabbana's DM'S insulted both China and Chinese people.
The messages were screenshot and sent to Diet Prada where messages show Gabbana defending the video campaign as “a tribute,” calling the racist accusations as “fake news,” and calling the Chinese people an “Ignorant Dirty Smelling Mafia” who eat dogs.
This resulted in a downward spiral for Dolce & Gabbana as Gabbana claimed his account had been "hacked."
The official account for the brand also claimed, “Our Instagram account has been hacked. So has the account of Stefano Gabbana. Our legal office is urgently investigating."
"We are very sorry for any distress caused by these unauthorized posts, comments, and direct messages. We have nothing but respect for China and the people of China.”
The Cultural Affairs Bureau of Shanghai did not care for the apology of the alleged "hacking" as Dolce and Gabbana were forced to cancel the show. This started a wave of backlash from many influencers and models, retailers in the Asian market and consumers.
Soon after, Dolce & Gabbana made posted an apology video on YouTube in response to their actions.
Dolce spoke out against IVF in 2015.
Just before the 2007 advert that resurfaced in 2015, Dominco Dolce spoke out against In Vitro Fertilization in an interview with Italian magazine Panorama saying:
"I am not convinced by those I call children of chemicals, synthetic children: Rented uterus, semen chosen from a catalog. The family is not a fad. In it, there is a supernatural sense of belonging. You are born to a mother and father — or at least that's how it should be."
Considering how many members of the Kardashian family have used / considered using IVF (including Kourtney and Travis) as well as used surrogates, it is odd that they would work with the fashion house on something as important as their wedding.
Soon after his statement, he was criticized by the likes of Elton John, who wrote on Instagram, "How dare you refer to my beautiful children as 'synthetic ... And shame on you for wagging your judgemental [sic] little fingers at IVF - a miracle that has allowed legions of loving people, both straight and gay, to fulfill [sic] their dream of having children."
"Your archaic thinking is out of step with the times, just like your fashions. I shall never wear Dolce & Gabbana ever again. #BoycottDolceGabbana."
Dolce then apologized in Vogue, blaming his strict Catholic upbringing saying "I've done some soul-searching. I've talked to Stefano a lot about this. I've realized that my words were inappropriate, and I apologize. They are just kids."
The following year, the designer brand released an assortment of family-themed novelty tees, depicting a range of parental pairings, which seemed like an act of contrition.
Dolce & Gabbana sold 'Slave Sandals.'
If anyone thinks Dolce & Gabbana will learn from their previous actions, then they need to think again as D&G once again blamed a racist fashion choice on their Italian Heritage.
In their Spring 2016 collection, they released a sandal titled "Slave Sandal" which was being sold for $2,395. Once again, the duo used the excuse that they named the sandal based on their Italian heritage, and after an enormous backlash on social changed the name to “decorative flat sandal.”
D&G released "Thin and gorgeous" sneakers.
In April 2017, D&G posted on Instagram advertising their new sneaker which included a kitschy design with the words “I’m Thin & Gorgeous” written across the side, as well as the words, "Sorry, I’m the best” and “More, more and more."
Many people were outraged by the words, and according to Yahoo Style, Claire Mysko, the CEO of the National Eating Disorders Association commented about the shoes, saying, "There may be an element of cheeky humor at play in the design of these sneakers, equating thinness and beauty with success and status is a message that hurts everyone."
"When the prevailing message is thin is good, gorgeous is good, that becomes our priority, often at the expense of our health and well-being.”
Gabbana once again mocked the hate for his designer shoe, writing on Instagram, “When idiocy distorts reality!!! incredibile!!!! [sic] Next time we’ll write LOVE TO BE FAT AND FULL OF CHOLESTEROL. The most stupid post ever.”
D&G publicly shamed celebrities like Selena Gomez and Victoria Beckham.
Dolce & Gabbana have no shame in publicly bullying celebrities.
One of the most well-known incidents of this behavior was seen in June 2018, when Gabbana left a comment on a photo collage of Selena Gomez that read, “è proprio brutta” — which was roughly translated to “she’s so ugly.”
In response to all the hate, Gabbana wrote on his Instagram account, “MY NAME IS SELENA!!! #saysorrytome” and “Omfg #pleasesaysorrytoselena."
Victoria Beckham was another celebrity who Gabbana bashed even though the two used to be friends.
In 2014, when Gabbana was featured in The Telegraph commenting on Beckham's new fashion label saying, “She’s a friend. She make a good job but… for us, she don’t make the same way like a fashion designer. She’s a fashion designer but it’s another… it’s different. John Galliano is a designer… Alexander McQueen.”
Megan Hatch is a writer at YourTango who covers zodiac, love and relationships, and pop culture.