The Most Controversial Brands in Fashion

By Alexia Gonzalez on June 27, 2015

In an industry where sex sells, it’s inevitable to encounter a bit of controversy (or shall I say, a lot) for certain marketing techniques and promotion ploys. To put it plainly, there can be no fashion industry without some degree of scandal.

During recent decades, the progression of technology and the increasing accessibility of print, digital, and social media has pushed companies, particularly fashion brands, into a more risqué direction.

There has been a significant spike in the release of suggestive and controversial advertising campaigns, the aim of which is nothing more than to gain publicity and to get their brand name on everyone’s lips.

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Some brands however, are controversial for different reasons, whether its manufacturing practices or executive beliefs and opinions. What do you think? Would the controversy brought upon these labels hinder you from purchasing an item that you would have originally purchased?

Here are some of the most controversial fashion brands currently running the market.

American Apparel

The clothing brand American Apparel might as well be synonymous with controversy. Their bawdy advertisements get banned on the regular for overt sexuality, featuring suggestive use of models and positioning of clothing.

Their notorious clothing style plays into this idea of bold sexuality, with revealing body suits and lingerie advertised as casual attire. Not to mention the brand’s unorthodox management practices, such as the hiring of in-store employees based on “hotness.” However scandalous, the brand uses this reputation to its advantage and continues to gain success through controversy.

UNIF

The UNIF online clothing label (Ur Not in Fashion) is perpetually seeped in controversy for their “occult fashion.” UNIF’s aesthetic finds its inspiration from the ’90s grunge scene, with a hyper sexualized take on the rocker rebellious.

Established in 2004 by couple Eric Espinoza and Christine Lai in LA, UNIF has frequently been accused of satanic imagery, such as upside down crosses and frequent use of the triple 6, and satirical references to religious figures. They are definitely trying to capitalize on the current Illuminati obsession, with the brand logo being that of the All Seeing Eye synonymous with the ‘illuminati.’

Urban Outfitters

The ultra-hip retailer is loved by cool kids of all ages for their blatant use of ironic, explicit, and brazen imagery and symbolism in both attire and miscellaneous findings. From t-shirts propagating dangerous behavior such as eating disorders, to drug references and sexual innuendos, Urban Outfitters has definitely come into fire for their questionable merchandise.

Regardless of their garnered reputation, the company continues to stick to its bold aesthetic and has found success in the teenage consumer demographic. I mean where else would you be able to find shot glasses with baby kittens engraved on them?

Abercrombie & Fitch

The brand, which is famous for its all-American prepster aesthetic, has endured more controversies than cutoff denim shorts. Not only has the brand encountered multiple discrimination lawsuits; the CEO of the label has openly expressed consumer bias.

The CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch has openly stated that the brand will not sell clothes for “fat people” and they target “cool, good looking, all American kids.”

The CEO tops it all off by stating, “A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely.” That is certainly not an ideal that should be promoted to its primary demographic of 12 to 15-year-old shoppers.

United Colors of Benetton

The clothing brand United Colors of Benetton has become so synonymous with controversial advertising that media college courses have even used their techniques within their university curriculum.

Campaigns include billboards with human hearts, the moment of death as an aids patient dies, birth, conception, mixed race children (with extreme stereotyping) and religious situations that would be considered “sinful.” It seems there is no person left un-offended by their advertisements – which is perhaps what has made them so iconic.

Sisley Fashion

This French based fashion brand came under serious fire because of a very controversial ad that was recently released. In this specific campaign, the main image depicted two young models “snorting” a white dress that had been laid out to look like cocaine, with a tagline at the center reading “fashion junkie.”

This ad received an enormous amount of backlash due to its glamorization of drug use. Not surprisingly, the advert received numerous complaints and the brand’s reputation has never fully recovered from this controversial incident.

Dolce & Gabbana

The Italian fashion house has been at the forefront of the fashion world since the 1980s. However, their fashion reign did not reach global notoriety without a few bumps in the road.

Take for example Dolce & Gabbana’s 2013 Spring/Summer runway showcase which featured a collection full of vibrant prints, Mediterranean influences, and … oh yes a pair of very offensive earrings. Subsequent to the release of these racially discourteous baubles, fashionistas around the world (specifically Americans) were baffled by the suggested imagery. The earrings were incredibly reminiscent of a caricature of the “Mammy” slave image.

This controversy does not include the recently expressed opinions of the brand’s creators Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. The (openly gay) fashion duo recently denounced the “artificiality” of LGBTQ families, and expressed opposition to adoption.

Dolce claimed that there is a sharp division between children who are the product of “an act of love” and were “born to a mother and a father” and gay couples’ children, who are “children of chemistry, synthetic children.” This stance inevitably has caused serious backlash for the brand, who have always had an incredibly supportive LGBT following.

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