“Racism & bigotry”: Bella Hadid slams Dolce & Gabbana for Milan show

• Supermodel Bella Hadid publicly slammed Dolce & Gabbana’s "The Portrait of Man" menswear show at Milan Fashion Week, describing the exclusively white model cast as "embarrassing" and criticizing the brand for a lack of diversity.
• Re-igniting a long-standing industry feud, Hadid accused the Italian fashion house of maintaining a "canceled" status due to years of documented racism, sexism, and xenophobia, specifically referencing past controversies such as the 2018 anti-China campaign and the designers' 2015 remarks against IVF.

Supermodel Bella Hadid publicly condemned the Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana following its menswear presentation at Milan Fashion Week on Saturday.

The event, titled "The Portrait of Man," featured a lineup of models that drew widespread criticism for its apparent lack of diversity, with commentators noting an exclusively white cast.

Hadid's remarks, posted on Instagram, highlighted what she described as the brand's longstanding issues with racism, sexism, bigotry, and xenophobia, reigniting discussions about inclusivity in the fashion industry.

The controversy originated from a video shared by French fashion commentator Elias Medini, known as Lyas, who analyzed the runway show.

Medini described the casting as "fifty shades of white," emphasizing the absence of Asian, dark-skinned, Arab, or even blond models, and labeled the homogeneity as "not normal" given the show's theme celebrating individual identity - The video garnered over two million views.

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Lyas (@ly.as)

In response to Medini's post, Hadid expressed her dismay in the comments section.

She wrote, "Shocked people actually support this company still it’s embarrassing. Models / stylists/ casting the whole damn thing."

In a follow-up comment, she elaborated, stating, "beeeen cancelled…. years of racism sexism bigotry xenophobia … how are we shocked still?"

Hadid, who is of Palestinian descent and has been vocal on social justice issues, has never walked for Dolce & Gabbana.

Dolce & Gabbana's history of controversies provides context for Hadid's accusations.

In 2018, the brand faced backlash over a promotional campaign in China depicting a model struggling to eat Italian food with chopsticks, compounded by alleged derogatory messages from co-founder Stefano Gabbana referring to Chinese people in offensive terms.

Earlier incidents include the 2015 remarks by designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana opposing in vitro fertilization and gay adoptions, calling children conceived through such methods "synthetic."