In what seemed to be a PR nightmare for most fashion companies, Stefano Gabbana has had himself a field day trolling positive body activists and feminists on social media.
It all started when social media expressed their outrage for one of Dolce & Gabbana’s latest $1,195 sneakers that look like they’ve been doodled on with permanent marker and decorated with small decals and studs. What caused the uproar came from a proclamation on the side of the shoe stating: “I’m Thin & Gorgeous” in blue, capitalized and bolded.
https://twitter.com/_kcjn/status/857713549422080001
stefano gabbana is trash for that caption, idc what y'all fat shamers say, i guess d&g being a mess is just karma + them being trash
— flo milli shit (@RUNWNAOMI) April 27, 2017
I hope a fat woman buys those dolce and gabbana sneakers and rocks them to hell. I hope they lean when she walks too lmao
— Tis the Szn To Cashapp A Capricorn (@MEEK_ndhumble) April 26, 2017
Evidently, most were not impressed as it clearly excluded plus size women from the message it was sending, something the fashion industry has been scrutinized for as long as it’s been around. In fact, Claise Mysko, CEO of the National Eating Disorder Association spoke with Yahoo! Style and let them know the message the shoe was sending, although meant to be funny, could, in fact, pose malicious intent:
Upon facing the backlash, Stefano Gabbana, an Italian fashion designer and co-founder of Dolce & Gabbana, decided to respond, although not in an apologetic or remorseful manner. In fact, Gabbana decided that further body-shaming was going to be his method of approach in this situation, and he took to Instagram to express exactly how he felt towards the criticism.
In one of his initial reactions, he stated: “When idiocy distorts reality!!! Incredible!!!! Next time we’ll write ‘LOVE TO BE FAT AND FULL OF CHOLESTORAL.’”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BTWbiB_lUB4/?taken-by=stefanogabbana
In fact, this initial post was followed by an abundance of videos and pictures reacting to the articles written about the shoe, as well as comments by fans.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BTXJdtBl61D/?taken-by=stefanogabbana
https://www.instagram.com/p/BTY9i8UFrlL/?taken-by=stefanogabbana
https://www.instagram.com/p/BTY9GUxFNPk/?taken-by=stefanogabbana
https://www.instagram.com/p/BTZZJXCFRHT/?taken-by=stefanogabbana
So instead of ignoring the backlash, removing the shoe, or apologizing, Gabbana decided to push forward a stereotype that was clearly an attack on plus size people. It is important to note that plus size people being the only ones with high cholesterol is, in fact, a misconception, as children, young people and thin people are all susceptible to the dangers of high cholesterol.
Hopefully, upon the evident fat-shaming of Dolce & Gabbana, plus size women around the world stop hurting themselves in order to fit into the clothes of already problematic companies like this because your mental health and body positivity are worth far more than any shoe.
