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Can Fashion Brands Actually Be Canceled?
After Dolce & Gabbana's role in Kourtney Kardashian's wedding and Alexander Wang's show, Sarah Wasilak explores whether fashion brands can be canceled.

Can Fashion Brands Actually Be Canceled?

While Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker’s three-part wedding was a love-filled affair, the bridal party’s choice of designer was not so well-received. As pictures poured in from the Las Vegas nuptials, followed by a bigger ceremony in Portofino, Italy, it became apparent that the entire Kardashian-Jenner clan were dressed by Dolce & Gabbana.

The fashion house is seemingly enjoying a resurgence among today’s biggest stars, but it wasn’t too long ago that Dolce & Gabbana was inundated with controversy. The Milan-based brand’s history of racism and homophobia runs deep. In less than a decade, the brand came under fire for an ad with a Chinese model eating Italian food with chopsticks; selling “Slave Sandals” and Blackamoor earrings; referring to children born from IVF as “synthetic” (Dolce issued an apology); saying that it opposes gay adoption; calling Selena Gomez “ugly”; and creating #Boycott shirts after receiving backlash for dressing former First Lady Melania Trump.

And yet, Dolce & Gabbana still enjoys public support from high-profile celebrities.

Along with the aforementioned Kardashian-Barker wedding, Miley Cyrus publicly congratulated her younger brother, Braison, for walking in a Dolce & Gabbana show on Instagram. Vice President Kamala Harris wore a gray suit from the brand in late January 2021. Kristen Stewart’s shimmering Critics’ Choice dress landed on several best-dressed lists.

Dolce & Gabbana is one of many fashion houses in the midst of a desperate rebrand after being embroiled in controversy. Aided by celebrities, influencers, and publicists, these labels somehow sidestep “cancel culture” and force their way back onto red carpets and Instagram feeds — with the ultimate goal of getting back in shoppers’ good graces.

It begs the question: can a fashion brand even be canceled?