Fashion outlets are really hitting all the wrong notes. Last week fashion giant H&M made headlines for featuring a black boy wearing a hoodie with a questionable message causing a lot of controversy and boycott against the brand.
And now a new choker from ASOS is causing a stir.
Though it’s no longer for sale, the £45 ‘Latex Flamer Choker’ from the brand Hanger sparked ire across the internet as some believed that the insensitive necklace glorified suicide imagery. However, there were some who chastised the detractors and praised the creative design of the necklace.
The true-to-size belt designed to be worn fastened around the neck was removed after being slammed as “vile” and “sickening” on Twitter.
“So disgusted with @ASOS — it seems that in at a time when death by suicide is becoming more common they attempt to make suicide fashionable. The pose, the belt, the branding on the tee —sickening,” wrote one user.
So disgusted with @ASOS – it seems that in at a time when death by suicide is becoming more common they attempt to make suicide fashionable. The pose, the belt, the branding on the tee – sickening #MentalHealthAwareness #mentalhealth #MentalHealthMatters pic.twitter.com/UDs4xpgv7X
— Lexoctopus (@Lexoctopus) January 16, 2018
“Absolutely unacceptable to sell belt necklaces named ‘hanger latex’ with a model wearing a shirt that reads ‘hanger;’ suicide is a harrowing epidemic that plagues your buyer demographic. How careless and harmful to glorify this as a fashion accessory, remove it,” another wrote.
@ASOS @ASOS_Us Absolutely unacceptable to sell belt necklaces named ‘hanger latex’ with a model wearing a shirt that reads ‘hanger;’ suicide is a harrowing epidemic that plagues your buyer demographic. How careless and harmful to glorify this as a fashion accessory, remove it. pic.twitter.com/2xitKcchre
— kylie souder (@kyliesouder) January 15, 2018
Meanwhile, others felt that the bizarre-looking necklace was simply that.
“Look at the brand, it has no links with suicide or anything of the sort. It’s a choker,” one user said. Another felt it was “ridiculous” that “people are actually offended” by the design.
Think people just love an excuse to be offended. Look at the brand, it has no links with suicide or anything of the sort. It’s a choker.
— Katie g (@_katiegillett) January 17, 2018
From selling buttless jeans to championing models with stretch marks, this is certainly not the first time, nor likely the last, that ASOS has made headlines for its creative decisions.
‘COOLEST MONKEY IN THE JUNGLE’
Last week, photos of Liam Mango, a black boy, modelling a “coolest monkey in the jungle” hoodie went viral, with social media users accusing H&M of racism.
The mother of the five-year-old H&M model caught up in a racism row told the BBC that her family has moved house in Sweden “for security reasons.”
Many were angered when Liam’s mother Terry Mango defended the brand and told people to stop “crying wolf.”
In South Africa, protesters vandalised H&M stores over the photos.
Despite the backlash she has faced, Terry Mango still doesn’t believe H&M had a racist agenda.
“I respect other people’s opinion on the issue. I know racism exists, but does the shirt to me speak racism? No, it doesn’t,” she stated.
Though Mrs Mango has been a victim of racism and acknowledges it’s a huge problem, she’s been attacked by other black people for not condemning H&M.
“I [am] a sell out to them, I [am] an embarrassment to the black and African-American people. I sold my son for money.”
The family have moved out of their house in Stockholm following “security concerns” Mrs Mango added.
Though she did not elaborate on the safety reasons, Mrs Mango said the attacks on H&M stores in and around Johannesburg were one reason for the move.