Fashion e-tailer Revolve is experiencing considerable backlash this week, after an Instagram post revealed the brand was selling a jumper with the slogan: 'Being fat is not beautiful, it's an excuse.'
Florence Given, a UK-based artist, posted a series of images from the Revolve website on her Instagram account, showing models wearing a range of jumpers with controversial quotes.
The quotes included 'Fat Is Not Beautiful', 'Slut Feminist Nightmare', and 'Too Boney To Be Boned.'
As it transpires, each of these slogans were supposed to satire or highlight the horror of a real comment, made by a troll, to a celebrity woman. The women who had experienced these sort of bullying comments included Lena Dunham, Emily Ratajkowski, Cara Delevingne, Suki Waterhouse and Paloma Elsesser. The words 'as said to...' were printed in small print underneath the quotes.
Unfortunately, without enough context, the jumpers caused outrage on social media:
Dunham, who was part of the project, took to Instagram to apologise and explain that the project was meant to be a feminist statement, highlighting 'quotes from prominent women who have experienced internet trolling & abuse'. However, she agreed the collection had been executed in bad taste.
The Girls creator continued to criticise the presentation of the collection, which she says was added to the clothing company's website without her consultation.
In the caption of her post, she wrote that Revolve 'presented the sweatshirts on thin white women, never thinking about the fact that difference and individuality is what gets you punished on the Internet, or that lack of diversity in representation is a huge part of the problem'.
She added she was 'deeply disappointed' in the company and called Elsesser a 'personal hero of mine'.
The writer added: 'Like me, she gave her quote in good faith and shared her vulnerability in order to support arts education and to spread her message of empowerment.'
Dunham explained that proceeds from the clothes were 'meant to benefit charities that help young women by empowering them to express themselves through writing and art'.
Elsesser - who just modelled in last night's Fenty X Savage show at NYFW - took to Instagram Stories to tell her fans she will be addressing the 'f*ckery' and that she was 'at a loss for words'.
Florence Given has since taken to Instagram to voice her shock at how the quotes have been used in the campaign, sharing a direct message with clothing brand LPA which created the clothes and calling the situation a 'nightmare'.
'Problematic marketing = a problem with diversity in the work place,' she wrote in her Instagram caption.
E! News reports LPA told Given: 'The whole point was the exact opposite of this.'
In a press release from the company, they apologise and told consumers:
'The prematurely released image featured on Revolve.com was not only included without context of the overall campaign but regrettably featured one of the pieces on a model who's size was not reflective of the piece's commentary on body positivity.'
Revolve has since removed the sweatshirt from its site and told E! News is will be donating £15,000 ($20,000) to 'Girls Write Now' - a nonprofit organisation serving at-risk girls from New York City public high schools/
They hope the donation will help 'in the hopes that those who need it can still benefit from what was to be a meaningful, insightful and impactful collaboration by LPA'.
Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
