At some point shortly after starting the blog, I made a pact with myself: no Dolce and Gabbana. No photos, no critiques, nothing.
There’s a piece of myself that still stomps its little reality-denying feet (in my mind, they’re chubby little toddler feet with those little fat rolls at the ankles) at this decision. After all, their look epitomizes an unapologetic, maximalist femininity, a Mediterranean fever dream of tile patterns, silks, embroidery, and the occasional ode to pasta. Their work is lush, intricate, and exceedingly sensual.
You see, though, there’s a problem here and it has to do with a fundamental truth about living an authentic life: once you know something, you can’t unknow it. That presented me with a bit of a pickle, because little by little over the past few years I’ve heard stories about Dolce and Gabbana, sometimes in whispers, sometimes in shouts, that have led me to one conclusion: these guys are THE. WORST.
Every brand has missteps, because brands are simply groups of humans working towards common creative and financial goals. If there’s anything my 33 years have taught me, it’s that humans are at best absolute messes of psyche and pride and ignorance and altruism and hatred and ingenuity and curiosity and fear. We’re just big meat sacks full of all of those things. So it’s not surprising to find strains of bigotry woven in various patterns throughout even the most illustrious brands (just skim this USA Today article for a quick reminder).
In many cases, though, there is at least hope for course correction. There is usually a sense of shame after a brand is called out when bigoted undercurrents make themselves known. There’s a maddeningly slow trend towards accountability and transparency, one that often feels dredged from bilges of obligation instead of inspired by any real empathy. There is, at the very least, movement, and that movement can be incentivized by the consumer as we reward brands that make good-faith changes for the better.
Is it a “misstep” if you meant to go there?
Then there’s Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, two men about whom I can say, thank God that Jesus loves them because I sure as hell can’t.
Why? They have made multiple, public overtures displaying a deeply misguided disdain for any human who has not led a life like theirs. I say “overtures” because they can’t possibly be described as “gaffes” or “missteps” because they have all been executed with intention and followed with a bloated, hearty defense which exposed a disturbing lack of empathy and reflection. There is no good-faith effort to course-correct, because you can’t correct your path if you feel, at your core, that it is the correct one – or if you are two frightened to admit to yourself that you’ve strayed.
7 Reasons Why Dolce and Gabbana is the Actual Worst
What have they done, exactly? I summarized 7 of their more recent entrees into douchbaggery in a 1-minute video. Although it’s an incomplete list, it is sure as hell enough information for you to think, why do people support them?
Give it a watch and let me know what you think!
@stigmendes TW – this post discusses racism, xenophobia, homophobia #dolcegabbana #dolceandgabbana #tiktokfashion #cancelled #dandg #millennialsoftiktok
So – why write about them now?
Obviously, I’m breaking my own rules by writing about D&G, but it had to happen. As this Business of Fashion article outlines, the brand is making a comeback despite no action being taken within the organization to directly treat the racism, homophobia, and other forms of bigotry that have festered over the years. Publicists, stylists, celebrities, and editors seem to have no problem publicizing the brand, presumably because the negative press has blown over and public memory is weak. Dolce and Gabbana is sailing forward with the same broken moral compass because perhaps to Stefano and Domenico, they don’t need guidance. They don’t see the issue with expressing their limited world view.
One of the many lessons learned from 2020 is that words have real-life consequences. Incendiary phrases made in the fervor of the moment are multiplied in the psyche of those who desperately need a dogma to sharpen the blurred edges of their uncertainty. So I’m writing about D&G simply because if we allow their mindset to persist in the industry, one of blind condemnation and perennial attack on those perceived as outsiders, then maybe we didn’t learn that much from the past year after all. Maybe the things we said about making the world more equal and lifting up the underrepresented were only they types of frenzied vows we make under duress.
I’m comforted, however, at the response to the video I posted above. Thousands of people have viewed and liked it, and hundreds have commented. Many had no idea about the brand’s history; others did, and added nuance and details I hadn’t thought of. If anything, this should be encouragement that people do care, they are engaged, and yes, they do want the world to be a more empathic, accepting place.
What do you think?
love,
Stig
