An apocalyptic hailstorm left the star-studded audience at the Dolce & Gabbana event in Venice scrambling to take cover on Monday. The show, however, continued and managed to still take the fashion scene by storm following the embattled brand's return to the catwalk for its latest Alta Sartoria couture collection.
Celebrity guests including Jennifer Lopez and Kourtney Kardashian, were at St. Mark’s Square as designers flaunted their Alta Sartoria collection in vivid colored sequin-embellished suits, embroidered capes, and avant-garde dresses when the hail started to dampen the live audience, according to the Independent.
However, the sudden storm forced everyone in attendance to duck for cover under umbrellas and jackets, as seen in a video posted to Instagram by the fashion blogging account @diet_prada.
Soon after, Twitter was inundated with tweets of reactions from netizens varying from alarm and concern to bemusement, while some people found the meteorological coup d'état karmic.
News of the freak storm, however, did not stop fans from slamming the A-list attended event over controversies surrounding the brand's owners, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, who came out against same-sex parenting in 2015 and have also been lambasted for xenophobic comments, Remezcla noted.
The brand has since been under heavier scrutiny from the public, also called out in 2018 for "cyberbullying" after Gabbana called Selena Gomez “so ugly" and critics of their "I'm Thin & Gorgeous" sneakers "fat and full of cholesterol" following backlash on the fashion line.
The same year, the brand was condemned for releasing a promotional video deemed culturally insensitive after their ad depicted an Asian woman struggling to eat pizza and a cannoli as a narrator asks, “Is it too huge for you?”
The controversy was followed by another scandal after screenshots of a conversation between Gabbana and fashion writer Michaela Phuong were leaked to the public. It exposed the fashion icon of describing China as "the country of" feces, using an emoji to finish his statement, according to Yahoo! News.
Fashion columnist, Evan Ross Katz, took to Instagram to provide a "brief explainer" on the brand's problematic past.
"D&G's co-founders Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana have sold 'slave sandals,' openly opposed gay adoption, and mocked folks boycotting their brand for dressing the Trumps," his post reads.
Katz would further note that Dolce tagged babies born via in vitro fertilization "synthetic" while Gabbana contends sexual harassment is 'not violence'."
The post prompted many followers to tag celebrities like Jennifer Lopez, who made an appearance and showed support in the Venice event, urging them to hold the Italian fashion house into account for their actions.
"They are vile," an Instagram user commented. "And suddenly everyone forgets and jumps on a plane to Venice. It’s disgusting."
"[It's ]crazy how many people are there showing their support of this brand," another said. "They still have not made public apologies."
© 2024 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
