Dominico Dolce and Stephano Gabbana make the “stars look like stars,” as Dolce&Gabbana has been pushing the runway boundaries to produce some of the world’s top fashion trends. But did they push boundaries too far when releasing an advertisement which showcased “the glamorization of gang rape” to the Italian fashion capital? Yes.

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This advertisement was in defiance with Dolce&Gabbana’s own Code of Ethics:

2.1      Commitment and Professionalism 


Dolce&Gabbana puts its professionalism at the service of Customers with the aim of creating a solid relationship that retains their loyalty, based on the values of creativity, originality and integrity of the brand.

The release of this advertisement goes against brand integrity and any graphic standards put in place to maintain visual integrity in Dolce and Gabbana’s marketing communications. Having “a woman pinned to the ground by the wrists by a bare-chested man, with other men in the background looking on” is a sight which is regarded as degrading and offensive to women. Were the creators of this advertisement not thinking of the female audience they were targeting?

While in production, the creators may have been looking to boast a sexual view to promote their new fashion line and capture the attention of consumers. However, as a woman myself, this representation is defiantly not capturing my attention in a positive light. Does sex sell to consumers in this case?

As a teenager, I remember flipping through my mother’s high fashion magazines and idolizing the models. If I was a teenager in Italy I would idolize this woman as much as the other models. It is a scary fact but reigns true in the naive mind of the average teenager.