D&GAF: Dolce and Gabbana been problematic (sorry China)

Apparently, Dolce and Gabbana like to offend people. We all remember when Stefano Gabbana got caught cheesing with his blackface wearing friend, Dell'Acqua at that Disco Africa Halloween party only a few short years ago.

Photo from Fashion Bomb Daily

Recently, D&G have offended another group, namely The Chinese. Over the past several days, the Italian fashion luxury brand has been trying to clean up a crisis caused by a tasteless and tacky ad campaign that critics called "disrespectful and racist."

It's also reeling from offensive comments allegedly sent from co-founder Stefano Gabbana's personal Instagram account. The Italian designer has denied writing the messages. The ad, which featured an Asian model struggling to eat Italian food with chopsticks forced the brand to cancel their major fashion show in Shanghai, which ironically the ad was designed to promote.

What is worse is that when further questioned about their thoughts on the issue over Instagram DM, designer Stefano Gabbana (the Gabbana of Dolce & Gabbana) said the following:

DietPrada

The continuing conversation was even worse. When DietPrada dared to share these messages, Stefano Gabbana went to his own Instagram and cried "fake news" announcing that his account was somehow hacked. Meanwhile, D&G quickly sent their team a cease and desist letter.

But the fallout from the D&G has been swift, brutal, and harsh. An overwhelming number of celebrities called for a boycott including  Zhang Ziyi (who was the first to announce across Chinese social media that she would not be attending nor supporting D&G), Chen Kun, Li Bingbing, Dilraba Dilmurat, Mu Ziyang, Huang Xiao Ming, Wang Junkai, Liang Jingkang, and many many others. Chinese online shopping sites have been pulling D&G fashion, fragrance, and beauty from their virtual shelves. Vogue China's Editor in Chief Angelica Cheung was reportedly so furious at the foolishness, she boarded the next flight back to Beijing from Shanghai. I don't blame her.

I hate to break it to everyone, but none of this was not shocking to anyone who has been paying attention to the fashion house. Dolce&Gabbana, both the brand and the designers who head it have BEEN problematic.

In fact, two years ago, I wrote on the constant insensitive, offensive and racist nonsense being perpetrated by the luxury brand on this here blog.

Looks like D&G have been deeply offending not only the Black community (with things like Black people dangling from the ears of white models and "slave sandals") but various communities around fashion and the world can get the DGAF attitude and ire of the luxury brand.

Here's just a short timeline of the failings, fallings, and falterings to care of D&G:

2012: "Blackamoor" Earrings and Prints:

(Photos from Huff Post)

Apparently, Mammy was in vogue that season.

2013: The whole "Afro-Disco" Halloween fiasco...

2015 Offensive remarks on IVF and Gay Families
This is when Elton John, Ellen Degeneres, Victoria Beckham, and others started #BoycottDolceandGabbana when designers made callous and flippant remarks about in vitro fertilization and families with gay parents, saying things like:

"‘You are born and you have a father and a mother. At least it should be like that.
"‘That’s why I’m not convinced by what I call chemical children, synthetic babies.
"‘They are wombs for hire, semen chosen from a catalog. And then you have to explain to these children who their mother is.’"
Oddly, these comments were made following a fashion show dedicated to mothers where models were carrying and holding children."

2015: Ads simulating gang rape
Following news that shocked the world of a brutal and violent gang rape in India, D&G released these ads, literally days after the above remarks.

Because what's gang rape without glamorous overpriced clothes?

2015 The whole "Chinese Tourist" thing

Photo from Yahoo.com

Because, according to a D&G publicist, "Because of their travels, [the designers] have rediscovered how people and global travelers see and enjoy Summer in Italy (for example during the show, Chinese and Japanese models wear traditional clothes with Italian embellishments and jewels): they represent tourists that have just arrived in Italy and cannot wait to absorb the local mood and culture."
Thanks for the pretty but still bigoted explanation of your stereotypes personified guys.

2016: D&G released their newest addition to equally ugly as it is offensive fashion. My friends, I give you the Slave Sandal.

Photo from Racked.com

For whatever reason, no one, I mean no one at the D&G camp thought that this was a bad idea (for one, those are some horrid sandals reminiscent of a kids craft party as opposed to fashion and for two, then why would you ever, in this age, name anything 'slave' anything?).

Basically, if we have learned anything from Dolce and Gabbana's behavior and character, it is that they and their camp either are so ignorant that we should honestly probably feel sorry for them, or (the one I think is true) that they are so openly racist and vigor trés and use fashion and art to thinly hide that fact.

I feel terrible that this gross and greedy brand lurched their racist leerings on the people of China. Anyone can see why an ad such as the one that made it all the way through production without one person saying "Hey, you know, this could be perceived as offensive." Hell! Stefano maybe should have taken a chill pill before his racist rant was captured on Instagram DM's! But maybe this is just what a brand that really doesn't give AF like D&G deserves.