Kardashian/Barker Wedding Latest Proof Controversial Brand Dolce & Gabbana Can’t Be Canceled

Topline

Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker’s Sunday wedding was hosted by Italian designers Dolce & Gabbana, one of the largest signs of acceptance for the controversy-marred brand dogged by incidents many consider to be racist or homophobic for years.

Key Facts

In 2018, D&G received pushback for an advertisement featuring a Chinese model eating Italian food with chopsticks, which many decried as racist.

Around the same time, messages allegedly sent by co-founder Stefano Gabbana were shared by fashion industry watchdog Diet Prada on Instagram, in which he made racist remarks about Chinese people, though Gabanna said the messages were the result of a hack.

Later that year, the brand’s clothing was featured in InStyle, Vogue and a subscriber’s cover of Harper’s Bazaar featuring Kylie Jenner, and in 2020 its gowns were seen again on the red carpets of the Grammys and the Oscars, according to Fashionista.

In 2021, D&G was worn by major celebrities on the pages of Elle and other fashion magazines including Nicole Kidman, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jennifer Lopez and Reese Witherspoon, The Cut reported.

Kardashian and Barker’s wedding was an overwhelming sign of acceptance for the brand: the festivities were hosted at Dolce & Gabbana’s property in Portofino, Italy, and the bride and groom and their famous family members wore D&G looks to the wedding and to the events leading up to it.

Key Background

Dolce & Gabbana’s 2018 controversy was only the most recent stain on the brand’s reputation. In 2012 models wore Blackamoor earrings during a runway show. In 2015, Dolce made remarks against gay parenting, saying, “The only family is the traditional one,” and IVF. Elton John called for a boycott of the brand, though he recanted when Dolce apologized. In 2017, after the designers received flack for continuing to dress then-First Lady Melania Trump, the brand trolled those calling for a boycott of the brand by selling $275 tee shirts that said “#BOYCOTT Dolce & Gabbana.”

Tangent

Barker and Kardashian, who got engaged in October, wed for the third time in a star-studded, gaudy ceremony in Italy on Sunday. In April, the pair had a non-legal ceremony in Las Vegas. Last weekend, they had a small legal courthouse wedding ahead of the lavish celebration in Italy. Kardashian also wore D&G for that ceremony. The family has had a long-standing love of the brand—one of their family dogs, who was featured heavily on Keeping Up With The Kardashians, was named Gabbana. Despite the partnership for their wedding, Barker and Kardashian wore Thom Browne to the Met Gala earlier this month.

Further Reading

DOLCE & GABBANA WANTS TO MOVE FORWARD. BUT IN FASHION, WHO EARNS FORGIVENESS? (Fashionista)

Why Couldn’t Anybody Cancel Dolce & Gabbana? (The Cut)

Three years after ad controversy, D&G is still struggling to win back China (CNN)