Dolce & Gabbana recently showcased their Spring 2023 Vintage Archive Collection in collaboration with Kim Kardashian at Milan Fashion Week. While the collection was very well received in the fashion world, we must not forget about the brand’s problematic past.
We have all seen that viral video of Kim Kardashian struggling to walk in her dress by Italian Fashion Designers, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, AKA: Dolce & Gabbana. Like everything a Kardashian or Jenner does, it got us all talking. However, I believe that our discourse needs to shift now to the questionable decision made by one of our generation’s most influential families in collaborating with a brand who are no strangers to controversy.
In May, Kourtney Kardashian married her Blink-182 beau, Travis Barker in the designer’s villa in Portofino, where the Kardashian and Jenner clans were decked out in head-to-toe Dolce and Gabbana. It was during their time there that Kim inspired the designers to use archive clothing in their next collection after stirring up the conversation by wearing some of her vintage pieces from their brand.
The ‘Ciao Kim’ Spring 2023 collection is an assortment of 85 pieces from their archive ranging from 1987 to 2007. Reusing vintage fashion is seriously on trend given its rising popularity, particularly among Gen Z who love nineties and Y2K fashion. The Kardashians are marketing geniuses so it is not surprising that Dolce & Gabbana would use Kim’s knowledge of trends to promote the collection in a positive light. Have a look at the show reviews by Vogue, Elle, and Harper’s Bazaar.
Despite their bonding in recent years, Dolce & Gabbana’s motive behind the partnership with the iconic sisterhood remains dubious. In 2018, Stefano Gabbano left a comment on the Instagram page @kkwcloset, in which he called Kris, Kendall, Kylie and Kim “the most cheap people in the world”, referring to a picture that had been posted of the four. In the same year, Dolce and Gabbana were forced to cancel a show they had in China due to outrage from a video posted on the brand’s social media. In 2019 Kim deleted a story she had posted of gifts received from the brand after backlash regarding remarks made by Domenico Dolce in 2015 about IVF.
Despite these apologies made by the brand the question remains, why would they use Kim as a figurehead for their collection, and indeed the Kardashian family as the face of their brand? For me, I imagine that it was to target a much wider audience, in creating plenty of media frenzy around this uber-famous family in a bid to downplay their abhorrent actions of the past.
Dolce & Gabbana need to be held accountable for these actions, they must apologise for them and acknowledge the hurt that they have caused. If they are truly honest in their apology, and it doesn’t come from a business strategy to keep themselves afloat, then the onus is on them to prove it. Actions speak louder than words and there are numerous ways in which a brand of that size could make real-world change.
I believe that the Kardashians should instead use their massive platforms to promote progressive beliefs and that they should work with companies who promote positive messages of inclusion and diversity. They have the capability needed to create conversations among their very broad fan base. With great power comes great responsibility, I hope that one day they will accept that.