As has been thoroughly reported, Harvey Weinstein is a total fucking monster who inflicted immeasurable damage on an untold number of women. And while some — just Donna Karan, really — have found ways to blame his victims, others, like Business of Fashion, are considering this the tipping point for holding men accountable for their terrible behavior.
But let’s start with Karan. According to Racked, the founder of DKNY mounted a preposterously ignorant defense of her longtime friend on the red carpet of the CinéFashion Film Awards, ultimately blaming victims of sexual assault for getting assaulted.
“Obviously, the treatment of women all over the world is something that has always had to be identified,” she began innocuously, before steering the train directly off the tracks. “How do we display ourselves? How do we present ourselves as women? What are we asking? Are we asking for it by presenting all the sensuality and all the sexuality?”
“It’s not Harvey Weinstein. You look at everything all over the world today and how women are dressing and what they’re asking by just presenting themselves the way they do,” she said. “What are they asking for? Trouble.” She later walked back her statements, saying they were taken out of context, but they weren’t. There was enough quoted material to provide plenty of context.
Thankfully, however, she was really the only one that stuck up for him in the fashion community, and that includes Weinstein’s soon-to-be ex-wife, Marchesa designer, Georgina Chapman.
In a related, and somewhat hopeful article, Business of Fashion posits that the public condemnation of a figure as prominent as Weinstein could be indicative of a larger cultural shift – one that will permeate myriad industries, fashion included.
Citing the recent ouster of not only Weinstein but also Uber’s Travis Kalanick, and VC Super Douche Justin Caldbeck, BoF writes, “The fate of these executives suggests a new reality to which companies — and indeed entire industries — must adapt… looking the other way when it comes to accusations of wrongdoings is no longer an option for businesses.”
“Today, the entire world is watching along on Twitter and Facebook… This new reality is equally true in fashion where there are no shortage of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ practices, from shoddy factory conditions to copying other designers’ patterns.”
Let’s hope they’re right. And seriously, Harvey Weinstein needs to be put in prison. For the rest of his life.
You can read more about it Racked and Business of Fashion.
