Kamala Harris criticised for wearing 'racist' Dolce and Gabbana

Kamala Harris' fashion has been the subject of much scrutiny, while some choices being applauded and others being heavily criticized. Most recently the Vice President of the United States of America wore an outfit by Italian luxury brand Dolce and Gabbana, which has drawn flak in the past for its racially offensive advertising. Kamala, who is the first south Asian, black and female vice-president, wore this for the swearing in ceremony of the treasury secretary, Janet Yellen while the new President of the United States, Joe Biden signed executive orders in the White House. The VP wore a woolen polo-necked sweater under a grey checked blazer and trouser combo. Vittoria Vignone, who runs a popular Instagram page Kamala's Closet, which enlists the VP's sartorial choices wrote in a post regarding what she considered a faux pas, "Was it an oversight on the part of her team? It’s possible but also incredibly sloppy. They could and should be better, especially after the triumphs of last week. The timing of this so soon after her inaugural choices championed lesser-known American designers of colour is awful no matter how you look at it.”

Vittoria was referring to the outfits that Kamala wore during the inauguration that were created by three black run labels - Pyer Moss, Christopher John Rogers and Sergio Hudson. While the posts, as well as the account, cannot be found on Instagram anymore, several commentators resonated with Vittoria's opinion and one wrote, "Someone seriously needs to tell her team about Dolce and their problematic issues with race. I’m stunned she would wear them.”

This was in reference to a racially offensive ad campaign that Dolce and Gabbana had released in 2018 that showed a Chinese woman sit dressed to perfection as she struggles to eat food from different cuisines with a chopstick. The ad showed the Chinese luxury's "most covetable consumers" as an uncultured people, almost mocking them with poor accents and stereotypical portrayal. This led to the cancellation of Dolce and Gabbana's fashion event in China, and the brand also drew a lot of flak from fans as well as Chinese celebrities.

Vignone went on, “I don’t think it’s a good idea for Kamala to wear so many new expensive items during her first week in office. I also don’t think she should be wearing non-American designers, especially when there are so many American brands to choose from … she and her team should care about the impact her choices have. For example she could lift up a smaller or more affordable business instantly.”

In an interview with the Guardian, Vignone said, "I received more messages and comments than I could respond to after I shared the D&G images. So many people shared my thoughts by saying I articulated something they felt themselves but couldn’t put into words."