Dolce & Gabbana has a ridiculous pom pom and tassel-festooned pair of sandals for sale on their website right now, which the fashion house has dubbed the “Slave Sandal,” and is available for $2,395 American dollars.
Although every fact in the above sentence is outrageous, let’s focus on the fact that D&G thought it would be chill to sell something called a “Slave Sandal.” (Ironically, this is the most expensive sandal on Dolce & Gabbana’s website right now). In their spring 2013 runway collection, Dolce & Gabbana also thought it would be chill to show “blackamoor” earrings with a collection harkening back to the good ole’ days of European colonialism; Jezebel’s Jenna Sauers pointed out that the earrings resembled Jim Crow -era “Mammy” figurines more than anything else.
At their spring 2016 runway presentation, Dolce & Gabbana sent a trio of Asian models down the runway meant to invoke “tourists that have just arrived in Italy,” dressed in Chinese-inspired outfits and carrying shopping bags and purses designed like cameras.
A description underneath the website’s “Slave Sandal” reads:
The Spring-Summer 2016 collection is a declaration of love to Italy, told through unique clothing and accessories on an imaginary journey through the wonders of this country. Italia is Love.
According to Footwear News, the “slave” descriptor was at one time used to describe what’s now known as the gladiator silhouette; the term is now “almost entirely obsolete.” FN reports that retailers selling the shoe are dancing around its name, referring to it as the “Pom Pom Wrap Around Sandal” (Moda Operandi) and the “Pom-Pom Leather Lace-Up Sandal” (Saks).
Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana also courted outrage in 2015 when the pair, formerly a couple, stated that children born through IVF are “children of chemistry, synthetic children. Uteruses for rent, semen chosen from a catalog.” The pair were cleared on tax evasion charges in 2014.
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Image via screenshot.