By: Molly Newell
Milan’s Fashion Week premiered Kim Kardashian's collaboration with Dolce & Gabbana for the Spring/Summer 2023 collection with the name: Ciao, Kim.
Each look consisted of a monochromatic theme, with predominantly black, white, beige, and silver outfits head to toe. The show also contained a black-and-white video of Kim Kardashian eating spaghetti along with the sound of clicking paparazzi cameras in the background (Elle).
The outfits appear to be drawn from Kardashian’s day-to-day wear, yet each piece is reworked from D&G’s archive. According to Kardashian, a collection is a form of repurposing as it is designed “to represent the archive [from 1987 to 2007] with this retrospective of the last 25 years of all of my favorite looks” (Vogue).
It seems as though Dolce & Gabbana’s PR tactics to separate themselves from their controversy through the use of this celebrity collaboration are working. Examples of their controversial actions include Stefano Gabanna commenting, “She’s so ugly!!!” on Selena Gomez’s appearance on Instagram and the brand releasing a $2,000 shoe labeled the “Slave Sandal” in 2016.
Overall, the line appears to be a success, primarily if D&G intended to distract the public from its controversial past. The Kardashians were a smart collaboration choice, not just with Kim but with Kourtney’s wedding hosted by Dolce & Gabbana also. Although it works in favor of D&G, Kardashians fans have begun to lose respect for Kim because of this choice. A fan wrote, “D&g is an extremely notoriously racist brand, the fact that the kards def know that yet continue to align themselves with them when they have children of color says a lot” (screenrant).
It is up to the action Kim takes next that will alter the opinion of her and her relationship with Dolce & Gabbana.