“Everything became advertising. You have to stand out on social media, you have to be talked about, because the clothes themselves have kind of stopped having value. It's much more about selling a lifestyle, a concept, than selling beautiful clothes. And Balenciaga, in particular, started this way: creating controversy on the internet. They grew and are now number 1. To stay at that level, they were perverse and thought they were above everything”, he analyzes Natalia Rodopiano, fashion designer and style coordinator at Namine.
ADVERTISING
The designer believes that, in cases like this, the only power the consumer has is that of the cancelamento. Listen:
The photos that Natália refers to are from the campaign with children holding sexual accessories. She adds that the boycott is not only restricted to consumers of the brand itself, but also pirated items. “We know that generation Z does not have any consumer power, but they want to consume luxury. The more people use it, the more famous the brand becomes. It’s about stopping giving an audience. It’s about stopping consuming piracy,” she warns.
“I believe that everything we consume – whether due to excess, or because we are consuming from brands that have breaches of codes of conduct or even exorbitant production and are consequently bad for the environment – actually carries part of the consumer's blame. The cancellation policy, although sometimes I believe it exceeds certain guidelines, helps raise brand awareness, mainly because in this way we are able to stop certain campaigns or attitudes from airing, and make certain proposals be rethought”, exemplifies the influencer Carol Stauch, from the profile @neverleavenaked.
ADVERTISING
The fashion content creator believes that publications that raise awareness about this subject are a way to reach the brand, especially with the potential for controversial topics to go viral these days, with the help of social networks. “I think that sharing this news, comments on the brand's posts, unfollows, etc., can be possible positions to take, and that will certainly affect the brand in the long term”, he adds.
How can I boycott the brand if I already have pieces?
It's difficult to have a single answer. During the week, digital influencers They published videos burning, chopping and throwing away their Balenciaga pieces. The attitude divided opinions on the internet, with many people offering alternatives – such as donating the piece or the value related to it.
For Natália Rodopiano, these videos end up bringing more media and visibility to the brand. Listen:
ADVERTISING
“I speak for myself, if I had consumed any of the brand's products, especially taking into account the investment required, I would probably stop using that product until the brand shows awareness about the action. I don't think it's necessary to burn this product as a form of boycott or repudiation, I believe there are several other ways to repudiate this type of attitude”, reflects Carol Stauch.
Balenciaga and the current controversy: remember the case
Since last week, the Balenciaga has been harshly criticized due to an advertising campaign in which children appear with sexual accessories. In other advertising images, a bag from the brand appears on top of documents printed with excerpts from a United States Supreme Court decision on child pornography.
Photos from the Spring/Summer 2023 campaign were deleted from social media. Furthermore, the brand published a statement on Monday afternoon (28) saying that it condemns child abuse: “It was never our intention to include this in our narrative. The two advertising campaigns in question reflect a series of serious errors for which Balenciaga accepts responsibility.”
ADVERTISING
Dolce&Gabbana: a sequence of scandals
Considered one of the most controversial brands, Dolce & Gabbana accumulates controversies in his fashion history. The empire built by Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana has been slowly shaking with each, let's say, unfortunate statement from its founders.
In 2013, Domenico stated that he was against the “children of chemistry and synthetic children”, as he called the generation of babies through in vitro fertilization. In another case that took over the media, the brand's sneakers had the inscription “skinny and wonderful”. When defending himself against accusations of fatphobia, Stefano wrote in a social media post: “When idiocy distorts reality. Unbelievable! Next time, let's write: 'I love being fat and full of cholesterol'”.
A xenophobia also joins Dolce & Gabbana's list of controversies. In 2018, an advertising campaign featured a Chinese model trying to eat with chopsticks – the pair of chopsticks used in oriental cuisine. The video was interpreted as a way of ridiculing Chinese culture, as the model ate typical Italian dishes (such as pasta and pizza). The campaign did not go well, of course, and a fashion show for the brand that was to be held in Shanghai, the largest city in China, ended up being cancelled.
ADVERTISING
And even with the fuss of the moment involving only Balenciaga, the crisis ended up spilling over to D&G. On Monday (28), influencer Camila Monteiro published a video in which she appears burning her pieces from the brand. She explains that she only became aware of the controversies now and that, therefore, she chose to destroy the pieces. “I felt deeply offended by these statements, especially because my children are twins from in vitro fertilization,” she reports.
