Dolce & Gabbana: More Bitter Than Sweet

The year is 2020, and Cancel Culture rears its ugly head more times than we can count. Keyboard warriors fight the brave fight, taking no prisoners: influencers, directors— even America’s purported sweetheart, J.K. Rowling. Sometimes, there’s room for second chances; after all, people make mistakes. Other times, Cancel Culture rightfully targets those who have run their course and now deserve to be shown the door. The fashion world might appear to be arcane and superior—with Haute Couture as its resting bitch face— but the industry’s best can (and will!) be taken down right alongside the rest.

I’m speaking of, of course, Dolce & Gabbana: Italian luxury fashion house. We’ve rapped the name alongside Fergie and Riff Raff and cemented their clothing as a staple in couture since its 1985 conception. D&G is a household name, even for those unconcerned with fashion. My Google docs just autocorrected the spelling of Gabbana’s name. Suffice to say, D&G has made it.

Recently, however, the label makes headlines less often for its clothing than it does for spewing offensive material and cultural expletives. The men’s hateful actions are deeply disconcerting to many. The following is a cursory glance at the turbulent timeline that demonstrates why D&G stands to be #cancelled:

Domenico Dolce, right, and Stefano Gabbana, left, co-founders of Dolce & Gabbana

It’s 2015, and the duo behind the brand Dolce & Gabbana, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, release inflamed comments on the topic of in vitro fertilization. In vitro fertilization, otherwise known as IVF, facilitates the welcoming of new life into this world, servicing gay couples and others struggling to start a family. Dolce and Gabbana dub the modern procedure as "synthetic" and a show of "chemical offsprings and [a] rented uterus." For good measure, they top it off by clarifying that they “oppose gay adoption”. Naturally, people disagree, including the D&G editorial director, who in response steps down from his position. The comments ignite what will become a persistent movement to boycott D&G clothing, pioneered by the musician Elton John and producer Ryan Murphy, both of whom belong to the LGBTQIA+ community. Gabbana, who has been romantically involved with Dolce for 23 years, openly identifies as gay but has stated in past interviews that he is tired of being defined by his sexuality. D&G attempts to counter the controversy in their fall campaign theme of family, which includes a same-sex couple on a handbag. Gabbana states, “We love gay couples, we love adoption, we love everything [!]” Forgive me for editorializing with the exclamation point.

Come March of 2016, Dolce & Gabbana return for an encore of objectionable behavior. The brand lists what they call a “Slave Sandal” for sale on their website. The sandals feature a Grecian structure with an open-toed design and wraparound leather ankle strap. The product is embellished with playful colorful pom-poms. Where could D&G have possibly gone wrong?

D&G controversial sandals listed on retail site

That same year, in a litany of body-shaming posts, Gabbana (veteraned social media assailant) writes “è proprio brutta,” roughly translated to “so ugly,” on a picture of Selena Gomez; comments on Lady Gaga’s weight during her halftime Super Bowl performance; writes “no” on a picture of former model Kate Moss’ legs; etc. This man should not be allowed anywhere near womens’ bodies, let alone styling them.

Once known for their celebrated Napoleon dresses and Sicilan bedtime robes, Dolce & Gabbanna’s designs now fall flat. In another failed endeavor, the brand posts screenshots of knock off D&G original designs. The roster includes a nearly exact Gucci ACDC jacket and the sparkly Cara Delevigne Moschino collaboration. Someone aptly responds with receipts exposing the hypocrisy of D&G, as D&G themselves have produced a carbon copy of Vivienne Westwood’s chain necklace. D&G also openly rips off Diet Prada’s merch designs to resell at a 12x price markup. To copy an account such as Diet Prada— whose foundation is built upon calling out designers for plagiarized work— is an act dipped in layers of irony. Either D&G is beyond lazy or they have a sick sense of humor.

Vivienne Westwood’s 1989 ‘sex’ necklace (left) and Dolce & Gabbana’s 2003 ‘sex’ necklace (right)

What was once a widely anticipated D&G Shanghai runway show is ultimately cancelled in yet another social media misstep. Promo for the runway— a three-part installment of racially-charged vignette videos— depict a Chinese model struggling to eat Italian cuisine with chopsticks. A voiceover mispronounces Dolce & Gabbana in a distasteful butchering of the name, and at one point, alludes to the woman’s phallic cannoli as too large. Someone leaks Gabbana’s response to the uproar the videos have caused wherein his private DMs read, “China Ignorant Dirty Smelling Mafia.” He also calls China “the country of [a full row of poop emojis].” Gabbana has since claimed his verified account was hacked, but it’s rather hard to believe him, given his track record.

Stills from D&G ad campaign launched on Weibo in anticipation of 2018 Shanghai show

Most recently, D&G began to recruit influencers and celebrities into their Spring/Summer 2018 show, an obvious attempt to stay relevant via cheap showmanship. One of said celebrities is Raury, a soul singer who was not privy to D&G’s courting of controversy. Around this time, the company is selling “Boycott Dolce & Gabbana” t-shirts in a cheeky response to the backlash they’ve received as one of the few remaining couture brands open to styling first lady Melania Trump. In an interview with GQ, Raury explains how he discovers this only one day prior to the Milan show he’s hired to walk, and by then, has already flown out, met, and “dapped up” Dolce and Gabbana. “Making a [Boycott Dolce & Gabbana] t-shirt was making a mockery. Me, as a young man from Stone Mountain, Georgia, the birthplace of the Klu Klux Klan, I really felt this mockery of boycotting...” As all the models storm the stage in the show’s finale, Raury emerges, donning a bare look with the words “PROTEST DG,” “GIVE ME FREEDOM,” and “I AM NOT YOUR SCAPEGOAT” stamped across his chest. “I felt like Dolce & Gabbana was literally trying to use the youth to wash their hands of any sort of heat,” he asserts. “They’re speaking for the 1950s.”

Musician Raury in D&G Madrid runway finale

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Though there’s no shortage of grounds for D&G outrage, I’ll stop here. You might be thinking: majority of us can’t very well afford to indulge in Dolce & Gabbana’s enthused debauchery, so why is any of this relevant anyhow? Cancel culture comes in many forms. Even if we don’t have the funds to purchase D&G clothing, we possess the power to cancel problematic companies with our voice. Educate influencers and @ your favorite celebrities on Twitter; hold yourselves and others accountable. Repping morally reproachable clothing simply ain’t it. It’s our social responsibility to strip Dolce & Gabbana— and any other hateful brands— of their status. It’s like Raury states: “Boycotting matters. Boycotting is real.” #CancelDolce&Gabbana. And in the meantime, someone confiscate D&G’s electronics ASAP.

Citations

Green, Mark Anthony. “EXCLUSIVE: Singer Raury Explains Why He Protested Dolce & Gabbana From the Runway.” GQ, www.gq.com/story/raury-protest-dolce-gabbana-milan-fashion-week.

Chan, Stephanie. “Dolce & Gabbana Apologize for Insensitive IVF Comments.” The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Aug. 2015, www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/dolce-gabbana-apologize-ivf-comments-815484.

Meagher, Luke. “Why Dolce & Gabbana Is Problematic AF!!!” YouTube, YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wu68_jecL70.

Munzenrieder, Kyle. “How Dolce & Gabbana's Shanghai Show Went From Spectacle to Cancellation.” W Magazine | Women's Fashion & Celebrity News, 21 Nov. 2018, www.wmagazine.com/story/dolce-and-gabbana-shanghai-show-controversy-canceled,