When Melania Trump wears a specific designer, her patronage usually goes unacknowledged by the brand. Not so when she wears Dolce & Gabbana. Stefano Gabbana has taken to reposting Trump’s various D&G ensembles on his personal Instagram, usually with a “thank you” and several black heart emojis. Needless to say, these posts attract comments from followers on both sides of the aisle. Some members of the anti-Trump camp began using the hashtag #BoycottDolceGabbana. Gabbana, who’s been known to wade into the comment battles, took notice. “Haters!!!! Remember #boycottdolcegabbana please,” read one riposte. Now, the Italian fashion house is attempting to reclaim the hashtag by way of a T-shirt.
Yesterday, Dolce & Gabbana unveiled its new #Boycott Dolce & Gabbana tees via an elaborate social media campaign. To promote the T-shirts, Dolce & Gabbana, like Pepsi, filmed a staged protest. (Cringe.) In a series of videos posted to the brand’s official Instagram account, a crowd clad in #Boycott Dolce & Gabbana tees puts on a fake riot. “Thanks to all our #haters for the GREAT idea. #fakenews #realtshirt,” reads one caption.
Like the aforementioned Pepsi campaign, this one reeks of poor taste. To quote Fashionista: “What we can’t seem to wrap our head around is how extra all of this is surrounding a Dolce & Gabbana tee: The promotional video, the pop music background, the throngs of casted ‘protestors’ and hashtags like, ‘#fakenews #realtshirt.’ It all just seems petty and pointless.”
As W points out, this is not the first time Gabbana has cashed in on controversy by making a product. In 2015, Gabbana spoke out against adoption by same-sex couples and in vitro fertilization. After intense backlash, the designer apologized, stating, “We [he and Dolce] love gay couples. We love gay adoption. We love everything.” D&G then released a line of handbags featuring cartoon imagery of children with gay parents.
For those not #boycotting, the $245 “T-Shirt With Boycott Print” is now available for pre-order on dolcegabbana.com.
[ via Fashionista ]
