70: Luxury Fashion Haul!!-- Sleeping with the Enemy
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Hi friends, I hope you're having a wonderful day today. My name is Bailey Sarian, and I'd like to welcome you to my study, and to my podcast, Dark History. This is a chance to tell the story like it is, and to share the history of stuff we would never think about, or maybe we just don't know about, you know? At least that's what...

I like to find out the stuff I don't know. I like learning and I'm here to share what I've learned with you. So all you have to do is sit back, relax, and let me tell you about that hot, juicy history goss, right? When I was a little kid, all I could think about was like all the cool things I was gonna do when I got old enough.

Like, there's going to be zero rules. I'm going to eat pizza or cake for breakfast, ice cream for lunch, and like ribs and steaks and everything for dinner. Okay? And ain't nobody going to stop me from watching TV after 10 p.m. I'm going to live my best life. I mean, hell, I just bought a blue light and some special glasses off of Amazon because...

I could. If you watch my Instagram stories, you saw how that went. There's a lot of spooge all over my house. That definitely wasn't from me, but we'll circle back to that later. But surprisingly, a lot of the time, the ways we treat ourselves as adults have a lot less to do with pizza and cake.

And we all know that the ultimate way to treat yourself is like, you know, some people like a little retail therapy. Maybe like a designer bag. Who's she with her designer bag? For me, this was a big decision. It's not something I treat lightly. I thought about it for a real long time. And I did some research. Like I was treating a bag like a freaking car. And finally, I narrowed it down to one and click.

Purchase complete. When it arrived, I was excited and immediately took her out on the town. And I gotta tell you, it was really weird because I noticed, and this is no BS here, literally people started treating me differently when I got this designer bag. Everywhere I went, it was like, "Right this way, ma'am. Is this food up to your standards, miss?" It was weird. It was Twilight Zone vibes. I didn't know a bag could give me this kind of like,

importance, I guess. When I'm walking around with my Jansport backpack, it's like, it's totally opposite. And if people did see me, they thought I was like, I don't know, a mess and would avoid me. I didn't get like, I got spoke to differently. So it made me wonder why does designer stuff have the reputation it does?

I mean, if it's all made from leather, cloth, and zippers, it seems like we're just paying for a logo to be able to say, hey, I'm better than you. I have an Hermes bag. So I started looking into these luxury designers. How did their products become so powerful? Why have they driven us to worship luxury?

Bags. What, if any, is the backstory there? And friends, let me tell you, I was not ready for the information I uncovered. Ooh, it's juicy. It's so juicy. And I couldn't believe that nobody is talking about it. Or maybe they were and I just missed it. The household names behind some of the most iconic designs and looks have been associated with some of the worst stuff

I'm talking Nazi genocide, racism, homophobia, and straight up sexual assault. Fashion star and certified polo daddy Ralph Lauren once said he doesn't design clothes, he designs dreams. Wow, incredible. Well, in today's episode, the subjects of our stories are designing,

Nightmares, I guess? Yeah. Yeah, you know? Great lead-in. Now, when I think of luxury fashion, one of the first names that comes to my mind is Chanel, right? Chic, French, like she's got it all. But every major fashion designer starts somewhere. And for Coco Chanel, girl, it was not pretty. Okay?

First thing I want to point out, Coco, not her real name. Coco Chanel was actually born Gabrielle Chanel, and Gabby had a rough childhood. She was born at a charity hospital, which was also called a poorhouse, on August 19th, 1883 in Samour, France.

If I butchered that, I'm so sorry. Her mom worked there at the poorhouse as a laundry woman, and Gabby's dad, Mr. Chanel, was a traveling street vendor. Now, poorhouses were essentially workhouses that also provided services for struggling families,

But the conditions were known to be, like, not great. They were known for being exploitative and providing jobs that were extremely harsh on the bodies of the workers. The bathroom in these poorhouses and workhouses were usually communal, shared by over 100 people. So, like, if you were in a bind, you could definitely end up pooping right next to your coworker. Which, as we learned from the cursing episode...

You know, it was a bonding moment. Then there was a preset diet for everyone that lived there. And the only things on the menu was bread, cheese, and gruel, which is like oatmeal, but worse. If I understood Oliver Twist, that is. Please, sir, may I have some more? And once in a while, you might get a tiny piece of meat. I mean, if you were lucky. So yeah, the poorhouse, not the best place for a kid to grow up. But for little Gabby Chanel, she did.

And things would only get worse. By the time she was 12 years old, her mother had died of bronchitis and her dad's street vending wasn't going so well.

So she and her sisters were sent to an orphanage. But all of this lit a major fire under Gabby's ass because growing up in extreme poverty made her determined. It made her driven. And she was gonna do whatever it would take to claw herself out of that communal bathroom, baby. And she didn't have any family to hold her back. And it was at that orphanage that Chanel learned a little skill that would forever change her life. She learned how to sew.

But Rome wasn't built in a day, and it would be a while until Chanel could make a living by making clothes. Once she was old enough to leave the orphanage, Chanel started a job as a nightclub singer. And this is where she started going by the name Coco. I get it. We all have a little sexy stage name. I'm Coco. Coco Chanel. Like, I get it. Chanel had a reputation for being a little...

Permiscuous, shall we say? No shame, not judging.

You know, she had a rotation of French men. Okay. And then she finds herself what we would call a sugar daddy. Chanel becomes a mistress to Etienne Balsan, a guy with rich parents and money to blow. And now Chanel was only one of the Balsan's mistresses, but he clearly cared about her. And I say that because he gave her the resources that allowed her to open up her very own boutique in 1910.

Get it, girl. Okay, make that pussy work.

Balsan also introduced Chanel to other wealthy investors. The process went something like this: Chanel would sleep with them, they invest in her and also Giz, and everybody wins! Yeah, things get a little gray here romantically between her and Balsan, but no judgment. No judgment, girl. I don't judge. Because these relationships that Chanel was building would ultimately be the foundation of a whole-ass fashion empire.

All this dick sucking seems to pay off and it doesn't hurt that she has a great eye for design. The French cannot get enough of the Chanel aesthetic, simplicity, elegance, comfort, and it starts sweeping the nation. After just a few years, she's opening a second boutique and then a third one. And then in 1918, bouffe, she opens her first couture house. A couture house was a big deal, especially in Paris.

Because not only is it a handmade, what-am-a-kind piece, but it's set apart from everyone else. It meant you were hot, you were bougie, you were ready to take your clothing up a notch to that high fashion level. Thanks to all the funding from her sugar daddies and all the connections she had been able to make in high society, Chanel had a huge leg up.

Both of them, maybe. I don't know. I mean, for coming straight out of an orphanage, I mean, that's impressive. Like, you can suck dick for the greater good in life. You can. Thanks, Chanel. Sometimes you gotta.

By the mid-1930s, Chanel had opened five boutiques in Paris and had 4,000 workers, mostly seamstresses, cranking out those hot French styles. But it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows because the workers weren't very happy, okay? There were many labor disputes about pay and safety, and it was said that little Miss Coco Chanel pretty much ignored all of them.

until the war comes along. When the Second World War breaks out in 1939, Chanel may have taken the opportunity to put an end to those labor disputes and she closes four of her boutiques. Now this leaves hundreds of women out of work, which is

Not a great look, but Chanel wasn't worried about her business taking a hit at this time. She was already world famous and her designs were knocking people's socks off all around the world. Like, she's good. She's like, I don't need these stores. I'm good. Her biggest couture house stayed open and was actually very popular with American soldiers who were looking for authentic little souvenirs to send to their girlfriends back home. But little did they know that Little Miss Coco was working for the enemy.

I know, I know. Uh oh, dun dun dun, you know? Hey friends, it's me showing up here looking like a hot mess per usual. I was thinking recently, you know what? Everything we do seems to revolve around mealtime, right?

Right? And it should. I mean, we need food to survive. But here's the thing. There are so many other things to do in a day. I mean, sometimes, you know, you can get so busy that you find yourself not even thinking about food until it's too late. And then you're just straight up

and that is when the worst decisions happen, okay? Now that's why HelloFresh is so perfect for someone like moi. I know for me personally, I just want something that's stress-free to prepare

healthy, but still tastes good, which is, I kind of feel like is a lot to ask, but thankfully, HelloFresh freaking gets it. They offer calorie-smart and carb-smart recipes. Even if you're trying out keto or just trying to eat more veggies, they let you customize your meals by swapping proteins and sides. HelloFresh also has a line of meals that are just as tasty, but designed specifically to be ready in 15 minutes. Woo, I

I love that. The fast and fresh recipes are so delicious, easy to prepare, and perfectly portioned. You know how sometimes you'll see a good recipe online, but it says like, "Ooh, serves four," and then maybe you're alone and you have to do the math? Ah, math, no. Not with HelloFresh, baby. They have my back the whole way. They know that we don't like math.

Now, my favorite part is that by the time I'm done eating dinner, I still have plenty of time to record content. Even though I'm eating a homemade meal, I didn't have to schlep to the grocery store to get the ingredients. Everything was already in my fridge and ready to go. Go to HelloFresh.com slash DarkHistory21 and use code DarkHistory21 for 21 free meals plus free shipping.

That's hellofresh.com/darkhistory21 and use code darkhistory21 for 21 free meals plus free shipping to get America's number one meal kit. Now let's get back to our story. So we all remember how good Chanel was at climbing that social ladder.

You know, to get her for a shop, right? Well, after the Nazis took over Paris in 1940, Chanel conveniently found herself sleeping with a German military intelligence officer named Baron Hans-Gunther von Dinklage. I know, that's a name. And it was at this time that Chanel moved back into the Ritz Hotel in Paris, which was also German intelligence headquarters at the time.

Very interesting. Now, Baron Dinklage was an agent working for the Abwehr, Abwehr, yeah, which was a top secret group of high ranking intelligent officers for Nazi Germany. So think like the CIA, but Nazis. Not exactly someone you'd find yourself dating by accident, Miss Coco, but okay. While all this is happening, Chanel has a problem.

She had been slowly expanding her fragrance line after her big hit, Chanel No. 5. Did you guys know that it's called Chanel No. 5 just because it was the fifth fragrance her fragrance guys showed her?

They're like, pick between these. And she's like, that one. That's the name. But when Chanel's fragrance line expanded, she had to bring out some people that knew what they were doing to run the show, essentially. The Wertheimers were a Jewish family and they financially backed the launch of her perfume. And therefore, they worked out some kind of deal where they got most of the profits.

Chanel was a little salty about this because as she got more and more famous and more wealthy, she probably wanted to finance the perfumes herself so she could take more, if not all of the profit. I mean, yes, sometimes people sign bad deals, but it was common knowledge that Chanel wanted out of this contract. Now, just in case you forget,

Quick little reminder about World War II. It was not a great time to be Jewish in Europe. There were these Aryan Nation laws popping up everywhere that forced Jewish people to give up their businesses.

And many historians believe Chanel saw this as a perfect opportunity to reclaim that part of her business that the Wertheimer family was profiting from. After all, I mean, she was literally in bed with an important German officer. Chanel had important contacts all over the world and her Nazi friends definitely took notice of that because in 1941, her boyfriend, Baron von Dinklage,

introduced her to another Auvers agent. But then get this, because she can deny, deny, deny all she wants, which is fine, right? But then Coco Chanel, she ends up registering with her own Auvers agent number. So like if you register with them, you get your own number, okay? And hers was like F7124. And even given her own spy code name, Westminster,

So like you don't just get this stuff if you're, you know, like you have to be in to get a spy code name and a number. Anyways, it turned out that the Wertheimer family had been a few steps ahead of Chanel and already transferred temporary control of the perfume profits to someone else before fleeing to the United States.

But Chanel was running in Nazi circles now, and she was going to have fun swinging that dick around while she could. So she then asks her boyfriend, I forget which one, but it was one of the boyfriends, that was a Nazi. She asked him if he can do her a little favor. She's like, hey, my nephew's in jail. Look, he's a really sweet kid, like...

you could just have one of your Nazi cop buds get him out, right? So they gave her a special assignment in exchange for her nephew's freedom. So Chanel's homework is to go to Madrid and obtain political information from her connected friends over there, including a British diplomat named Brian Wallace. Now we don't know what information Chanel was able to get or if it was helpful at all to the Nazis, but they were impressed enough to release her nephew from jail.

So, if you put the pieces together, maybe she did something good for them, you know? Now here's some piping hot tea. That nephew...

Well, rumor has it that it was actually her own son, a love child she had with her sugar daddy, Balsan. Now, this has never been confirmed, but it was said that Chanel was fiercely devoted to this boy, whose name was Andre, in a way that she was with no one else in her life. She took

total control of his education, sent him to the best boarding school, and always carried his picture in her purse. When he graduated, Chanel actually bought him a home in Paris, which was, you guessed it, right next door to his rumored daddy, Balsan. Hmm.

Very interesting, which would make more sense because why would she want to get like her random nephew out of jail? If it's her son, I could see the passion there, right? I mean, maybe you love your nephews. You should, great. But you know, would you get him out of jail? I don't know. But that's just a rumor. That sounds very...

True, in my opinion, I don't know. But Chanel wasn't done doing her little Nazi spy dance. In 1944, she took on another assignment from a high-up SS officer. This one relied on her personal connection to Winston Churchill, who was now England's prime minister. Together, Chanel and her friend Vera Bates

arranged his travel to Spain where they would be meeting with several diplomats and Winston Churchill in a mission for the Axis powers called Operation Model Hut or Model Hat in German. But this mission doesn't go so well for Chanel. Shortly after she and her companion arrived,

a friend of Churchill's who had heard about Chanel being a secret Nazi agent, decides to out her ass. Now this guy, he calls her out in front of everyone. Somehow, amidst all the chaos, Chanel managed to slip away back to Paris safely. But it was a very close call for that little fashionista and it spooked her a bit. In 1944, she managed to dodge another massive bullet.

A few months after the botched model hat operation, France took Paris back from the Nazis and things started to look very bad for Germany. Chanel was summoned for questioning about her involvement with the Op'ver, but the time they reached her

All evidence of her missions had been erased. As soon as she was released, Chanel fled to Switzerland. But Chanel couldn't wiggle her way out of her reputation, which was pretty bad at this point. People called her a horizontal collaborator, which I just love this. A horizontal collaborator. I love it. I love this. Which was like what people would call women collaborators.

who slept with Nazis for profit because like you have to get horizontal in bed, horizontal collapse. Come on, that's so good. Not the not sleeping with Nazis part, but just the name.

I love wordplay, I don't know. If there's anything here you need to know about me, I love words. Sometimes. Months later, after the war was over, Chanel appeared in court and gave testimony about her Nazi connections, and she denied everything. Oh, except she did confirm that she had asked the Nazis to get her nephew out of prison.

I mean, and they did that. Chanel escaped punishment and went to a lot of trouble to make sure her slate was wiped clean. She even paid a guy to keep her name out of his memoir because she knew he had information on her. Chanel paid for the man's medical bills and gave his family a big old chunk of change to make sure her secret double agent life stayed out of his book.

Oh hey Chanel Company, if you want to pay me to not upload this video, I'm down. I'll take some bags. How about a lifetime supply of bags?

I could be persuade. Oh, and some money too. Let me know. Chanel laid low for a while, but ultimately bounced right back. She returned to the runway in 1954, and guess what? A Jewish family that fled to America, well, they kept working with Chanel after the war. Coco Chanel died at the Ritz in 1971. And to this day, Chanel is one of the most iconic brands out there. But like, would you buy a Chanel bag now?

No. Because have you seen how expensive they are? Oh my fucking God. Like what justifies that price? Please. I would rather be a horizontal collaborator with them. Anyways, Chanel No. 5 is like their bestseller always, right? But if you, I don't know. It actually, if you think about it, Chanel No. 5 actually kind of smells like...

alleged war crimes. I could see that. And guess what? Do you remember or have you seen pictures of those Nazi uniforms? They're scary and very well structured. But this is going to bring me to our next luxury designer with a very dark past as well. Because this designer literally dressed the Nazis from head to toe.

And he wasn't even all that secret about it like Coco tried to be. This designer was a card-carrying member of the Nazi party. Literally, he had a card.

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The date is July 8th, 1885. We're in the town of Metzian, Germany. I think I said that correctly. I tried my best. It's a cute, quiet town in the southwest part of the country, and it's not too far from the border with France. In that town, on that day, a mother gives birth to a boy and gives him the name of, can you guess it? Hugo Ferdinand Voss. Yes!

Hugo Boss. The Hugo Boss. Maybe you know those sweatshirts that guys wear across the chest that say like, Boss. Anyway, Hugo Boss enters the world. He's alive. Welcome. Which he is very lucky to be. Here's why. Little Hugo was the youngest of four kids. But two of his siblings died not long after they were born. So it was just Hugo and his sister. We don't know a ton about what his life was like growing up. But we do know one very important thing.

Because he was the only boy in the family, Hugo went on to inherit the family business at the age of 23. Now that business was the family lingerie shop. Hot. Family lingerie? Okay. For the whole family?

Just kidding. But like, you know, lingerie family. Okay. Now this lingerie wasn't all see-through bras and titty windows and bodysuits that leave zero to the imagination. Lingerie back in the early 1900s was much more conservative, but still very sexy for the time. And taking over this shop is how Hugo entered the fashion world. However, his rise to being an influential fashionista would...

Take a minute. The world exploded in 1914 when World War I started to rage. Hugo did what he had to do. He put his life on hold and enlisted to fight in the German army. Now, researchers say that while in the military, Hugo pretty much just went through the motions. He wasn't sprinting into battle or aiming to be a war hero. He never took home any medals. But this is all probably because Hugo had bigger plans on his mind.

If he died during the war, he could never see his grand vision come to life. And that vision was to make it. As in make it big. Just make it. Hugo always wanted to be big time. And he was willing to do some real dirty shit to get there. After serving his country, Hugo returned to his hometown of Metzingen in 1924 and opened his first clothing factory there.

With some financial backing from local businesses, he got things up and running pretty quick. Like, surprisingly quick. Was he doing some horizontal collaborations, maybe? I don't know. But eventually, 20 to 30 seamstresses called Hugo their boss. And together, they were pumping out things like shirts, jackets, and raincoats. But then one day, during his first year of being open, a

A big-name client came knocking with an offer old Hugo just could not refuse. That offer came from an up-and-coming political group in Germany.

They were known as the National Socialist Party, and they needed new uniforms. Amazing sounds like a great opportunity, perfect for Hugo. But here's where it gets a little, you know, a little bad. If the National Socialist Party doesn't ring a bell, well, you might know them by another name. A more infamous name, a name that would go down in history as pure evil, the Nazi Party.

Yeah. So right from the very start of Hugo's rise to stardom, he was in bed with the Nazis. His company went on to create the immediately recognizable yet historic uniforms for the Nazis. I'm talking the brown button down shirts with the big collar and double breasted pockets. If you need a visual, come over to my YouTube channel and watch this episode and you will see what I'm talking about. Or just Google it.

Up to you. But he made that shit not long after this and can you imagine? He made that shit. Let's think about that. Let's marinate in that for a minute. Wow. I mean someone had to make them. Unfortunately it was him. Why couldn't they just wear like trash bags? Well that's a dumb question Bailey but it's a thought. Not long after this in 1929 Black Tuesday happened in America. No.

No, this was not a day of deeply discounted televisions and appliances. This is when the stock market went up in goddamn flames and totally crashed. Unemployment went through the roof, and this had ripple effects around the globe, especially in Germany. And this is when the Nazi Party saw their opportunity. They became super popular during this time because they promised to bring the country back to greatness, to bring all the jobs back.

And this was music to Hugo's ears because the clothing industry took a big hit and he was facing bankruptcy. So Hugo was probably like, "Hell yeah, brother! I love what these guys are selling, bro!" That's how I imagine he talks. And we know this because in 1931, Hugo marches his ass to the front door of the Nazi headquarters and signs up to be a full card-carrying member of the Nazi party. Congratulations, Hugo!

You made it! Jesus Christ. Yes. He joined the organization being run by Adolf Hitler. Cool man. Wow. Just two years after Hugo joined the Nazis, Hitler took control of Germany and put the entire world on a crash course for World War II. And where there is war,

there is always going to be profit. From 1933 to 1942, Hugo Boss made uniforms for not just the Nazi Party, but he also was hired to make the scary-ass black "get-ups for the SS"

which was essentially the Nazi police force. They're scary looking. They're all scary looking. And he also was commissioned to make the uniforms. I'm not laughing at just this whole look. He also was commissioned to make uniforms for the Hitler Youth. So he's designing for the young kids too. Come the fuck on, like Jesus, take the wheel, Jesus, Jesus.

You know, the Hitler Youth, this whole organization Hitler created to like brainwash kids into joining his evil mission. Yeah. Hugo was designing for them. This is when Hugo went from a clothing manufacturer in a small German town to a big name on a national stage. Now, how much money was Hugo making?

That's what I want to know too. Well, I'll tell ya. From 1936 to 1940, the money coming in the door increased by 400%. At one point, Hugo was raking in around $8.5 million a year in today's money. Holy shit, that's a lot. Wow. So with all this business rolling in, Hugo finally achieved what he always wanted. He finally felt like he had made it.

And apparently it didn't matter to him how he got there. Good for you, Hugo. I hope you enjoyed counting your money while the world burned around you. And I wish I could say this was the end of Hugo Boss's dark biography. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking.

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Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customer surveyed who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations. This is an ad by BetterHelp. What are your self-care non-negotiables? The things you know make you feel better even when it's impossible to make time for them.

Like that workout you try to squeeze in between kids' activities, work, and everything else you have going on, and before you know it, it gets pushed to tomorrow. Sound familiar? But it's the moments when you feel like you have no time for yourself when those non-negotiables are more important than ever. Those are the things that keep you strong, healthy, motivated, and prepared to take on everything life demands of you. So why not make therapy one of them?

BetterHelp Online Therapy makes it easy to get started with affordable phone, video, or live chat sessions you can do from anywhere. And the option to message your therapist between sessions if anything comes up. Never skip therapy day with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com slash darkhistory today to get 10% off your first month. That's betterhelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash darkhistory. Kitty cats!

It sure ain't. The clothing industry was hurting to find workers during the war. That's because there were higher paying jobs elsewhere, like engineering and building bombs. Yeah, the options were limited. Make uniforms for the Nazis or build bombs.

Pick one, you know? Now we don't know if Hugo brought this next idea to his buddies in the Nazi party or if they came up with it themselves. But what we do know, based on historical records, is that starting in April of 1940, camps were built up in Hugo's hometown where human beings were brought to live against their will, mind you, by Hitler's secret police. And then...

they became forced laborers for Hugo Boss. There were literally an encampment specifically set up for Hugo and his company. So maybe it's not so crazy to say Hugo Boss had his own personal concentration camp. At one point, he had up to 180 people forcibly working for him. Most of them were women and 40 were French prisoners of war. Now, some people out there might say, well,

Well, wasn't Hugo just being a smart businessman by getting in good with the most powerful people in his country? I mean, sure, it didn't hurt his business.

But we also know for a fact that he swore allegiance to the Nazis and even agreed with their ideas. One of Hugo's BFFFFFs was a particularly hated Nazi leader and a German historian outright says Hugo admired Hitler. In 1945, after the world knew that the Nazis were murdering millions of innocent people and committing war crimes, Hugo still hung a picture in his apartment of he and Hitler

palling around one of Hitler's retreats. After the war had ended, I mean, nothing really happened to Hugo. He kind of got like a slap on the wrist and a stern talking to, like, "Don't do that again, Hugo. You hear me? Keep making those pants."

and the leather jackets, 'cause they kinda slap. And he was only given a fine. Not sure how much, but wouldn't prison be the better option here? One would think. Eventually, Hugo F. Boss died in 1948 because of a painful, horrible tooth infection. And I don't like to wish harm on anyone, but you know, how well. It wasn't until 2011 that the Hugo Boss Company investigated all the whispers and rumors about their founder.

they decided that all of it was true. And they issued an apology. As you can imagine, that wasn't enough for some people. In 2013, Russell Brand... Now, look, it doesn't matter how you feel about him. Put your feelings aside for a moment because this story is funny. Okay, so Russell Brand...

He took stage at the GQ Men of the Year Awards and ripped the Hugo Boss company like a new asshole. Brand said, quote, you know it was Hugo Boss who made uniforms for the Nazis, but they look fucking fantastic, while they were killing people on the basis of their religion and sexuality, end quote. Russell Brand was kicked out of the after party. Why?

Well, because Hugo Boss was the main sponsor of the entire event. Whoops. So it seems like all this is still a bit of like a touchy subject for them. I don't know. It must be hard to be a billion dollar company that was once BFFs with the Nazis. So then it got me wondering if there are some other brands, maybe more recent luxury brands that were also drowning in controversy. And guess what? There always is.

Yeah, everyone starts just being shitty. It's almost starting to seem like that in order to be a high-end brand, you gotta have some controversy going on. And that couldn't be more true with our next fashion house. I think this brand is different from the others because they're not so secretive about their dark history.

No. In fact, they seem to be more open and proud about their controversial actions and opinions. And you'd think in this day and age that wouldn't fly. But they continue to be successful and are worn by Oscar winners and British royalty. Their brand has been one of the biggest influences in fashion for over 30 years. Their worth is in the billions. So who am I talking about? Dolce & Gabbana.

You know that song. Great. Copyright strike, down. That's right, we're gonna talk about Dolce and Gabbana, which honestly scares me the most to talk about them because they're brutal. I don't want them to come after me. The fashion brand is named after two people, so let's start there. I thought it was just like two pretty Italian words together, but no. Dolce and Gabbana are two different, very real people. Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana.

and they weren't siblings. In fact, they were former lovers. Hot. Love that. And they've been a fashion duo since the 1980s. In the 1980s, after spending a few years working under another famous Italian fashion designer, Dolce was ready to go out on his own. Dolce came from a fashion family. His dad was a tailor, and his mom worked as a clothing seller. So he always had that

passion for fashion. Gabbana was different. He grew up in a working-class family and developed a love of fashion later in life. He actually was a graphic designer before he was a fashion designer. Dolce and Gabbana first met at a club in 1980, and when they met, it wasn't just love at first sight. They knew they had something special to offer the world. And they were right. Together, they created one of the most iconic luxury brands on the planet.

Creatively, the brand Dolce & Gabbana is known for many things. They're not afraid of color, patterns, and bold designs. They created Madonna's whole "Look for Her Girlie Show" tour in 1993. I mean, if you're designing clothes for Madonna, you can't be afraid of bold styles, right? They also made one item of clothing super famous: the black bra. Dolce & Gabbana have said it's the sexiest thing a woman can wear.

A black bra still shows up in many of their fashions today. Which reminded me of like when we were growing up, we weren't allowed to wear black bras when we were younger because like it was considered too sexy. Which is weird because they're just black, you know? What was that about? Okay. Which of course made me obsessed with having one. That parenting tactic never works, you know?

I'm wearing one right now, mommy. Mommy, I'm wearing one. Just kidding. Mommy dearest. Okay, but listen, I guess we can thank Dolce & Gabbana for that. I don't know. Thanks for the black bra. In addition to their groundbreaking fashion, Dolce & Gabbana have also released two dozen photo books.

They also donated some of the profits to charity, which yay, we love a charitable organization. But despite the fact that they have beautiful fashions and use some of their billions of dollars for good, it's not why they're on or they're in the news so often. Dolce and Gabbana are a very, let's say vocal pair. They've got a lot of opinions that have been described as problematic. I mean, they've said things like quote,

I am opposed to the idea of a child growing up with two gay parents, end quote. Gabbana has been known to troll celebrities he doesn't like, saying things like, quote, she's so ugly, end quote, like on their social media, leaving a comment.

And after their clothes were said to celebrate curves on women, they advertised sneakers that said, quote, I'm thin and gorgeous. And it was like on the side of the sneaker. And then after getting some heat, Gabbana responded by saying, quote, Next time we'll write love to be fat and full of cholesterol, end quote.

So yeah, I don't think they take criticism very well. I don't know. Which sucks because this company just has one scandal after another after another. And I mean, people are entitled to their opinions, but the issue- This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking.

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In 2013, Dolce & Gabbana presented their Spring collection. It had a lot of their signature looks in it: a scoop of femininity, a dollop of colorful whimsy, a smattering of interesting patterns, and a sprinkle of racism.

Oh yeah, for their collection, they chose to send models down the runway in black caricature earrings, styled after black servant statues from the 15th and 18th centuries. These statues were created to make the life of a black servant or enslaved black person seem more romantic and less, you know, effing terrible. They gave an explanation and then apologized, but it didn't end after that.

In 2016, so this is after acknowledging the racist earrings, they released a pair of shoes for $2,400 called the Slave Sandal.

You know, first of all, $2,400 for a pair of sandals. Let's start there. What the? And then naming a sandal that? Come on, that's not an accident. It was just, it was completely on purpose. And another example of the company continuing to create controversy and push harmful stereotypes.

But these guys, they just don't know when to stop, do they? No, because in 2017, Dolce & Gabbana had a highly anticipated fashion show coming up in Shanghai. There was a lot of new wealth in China, and international brands like Dolce & Gabbana were ready to make some money, honey. I mean, they already had a successful store in the country, so it only made sense that they would sell out their fashion show. A few weeks before the fashion show itself,

the brand released a promotional video to get the people of Shanghai and the press all excited about the show to come. It ended up doing the direct opposite. Now, I should mention Dolce & Gabbana have a history of releasing controversial ads, but this one was just straight up tone deaf. The ad featured an Asian woman struggling to eat pizza with a chopstick,

while traditional Chinese folk music plays in the background. Then an off-screen Italian voice mansplains how to eat the pizza. And then the woman says dolce and gabbana, pronounced incorrectly on purpose. It was unreal. A lot of people were like very upset. Understandably, many people in China and people all over were outraged.

saying it insulted the Chinese and straight up stereotyped them. That same year, a bunch of racist DMs surfaced from Gabbana's account, no surprise. And then the company was like, oh my God, guys, we got hacked. It wasn't us, sorry. But like,

It was, come on. The fashion show ended up getting canceled and Dolce & Gabbana got another mark on their record. But that doesn't mean they went anywhere. I mean, they're still thriving. It's like, god damn, they make pretty dresses. And...

Not that I own one, but I see them and I'm like, ah, fuck. They now try to be more inclusive with the models they have walking down the runway and try to partner with diverse designers. But, you know, I think they do it just to make everyone else happy because they continue to make controversial statements about everything from IVF to sexual harassment. I mean, we could just do an entire episode on just Dolce & Gabbana for...

all the bullshit they've said. But it doesn't matter because for every Dolce and Gabbana, there's a Karl Lagerfeld. Karl, Karl, Karl. And I'm not talking about Karls Jr.

Even though that sounds so good right now. Carl was a celebrated fashion designer who revolutionized many famous brands, including Miss Coco Chanel's brand. And he famously had some very strong opinions. Like for example, he disliked curvy or plus size models saying, quote, no one wants to see curvy women. What a fucking shithead. He said no one wants to see curvy women.

Jesus. I know a few guys that would disagree with that, but okay, you know. They're even making next year's Met Gala themed Karl Lagerfeld, which is fine, but like, you know, people love him and that's, you know, fine. And they'll continue to love him and all the other designers we talk about today, which is fine. Everything's fine. Oh, can I tell you something about Karl real quick? I remember reading some kind of article about him, an interview he did where he grew up fat.

And he struggled with his weight and he got picked on and stuff. And that's why he like had a fat phobia. Not that it excuses it, but it kind of makes sense. He just like was grossed out by his older self. I mean, younger self or like ashamed or something. I don't know, it was deep.

He's dead. So, RIP to that guy. Before I looked into this episode, I thought it was so bad that there was like a whole market of people selling knockoffs of these brands. Those knockoffs are called dupes. And some of the dupes are like really good that most people can't even tell the difference unless like they know their shit, but you know. So if that's the case, let's just save our money and get the dupes. Ooh.

I'm so torn because I do agree with that. Just go by the dupes. But then you don't, I won't want to put all these workers out of work. They're doing fine.

Never mind. Well, I fell into their trap. The entire luxury fashion industry is founded on something called aspirational buying. This is an actual term. This refers to us everyday people who want to own luxury stuff. Also, we can make it appear as if we're doing well. Like the new, you know, keeping up with the Joneses, essentially. As if Birkins and Louboutins have some sort of magical power to make our lives better.

And honestly, it's not much different than those products that promise to make your cellulite go away, you know? But the thing is, those cellulite lotions, I mean, they sell and so does luxury fashion because people believe in its power. I mean, look at me and my freaking JamSport backpack. The minute I replaced it with like a designer bag, people suddenly saw me.

It felt gross. And luxury designers know this happens and they take full advantage of it. But even when we move past the Cocos, Hugos, Dolce's, and Cabanas, the people that have made luxury fashion what it is, there are even shady practices going on. So what do we do with all this information? I don't know. We can't cancel Chanel or Hugo Boss. They're dead.

And the people running their companies today aren't Nazis. At least we hope. So what do we do with these people who have left such huge legacies but maybe weren't the best people? How do we separate art from the artist? I don't know. I don't have answers. Don't look for me for an answer.

but drop a comment and let me know what you guys think. All I know is this is the reason why I do this show is to find out the whole story and then share it with you guys. And the one thing I do know is whatever bag I'm wearing,

Doesn't change who I am. That sounds so Barney, but okay, I love that. Whatever bag I wear, it doesn't change who I am. Maybe we should stop caring so much about luxury brands because they'll suck ass at the end of the day. It's just a fucking bag. Look, we're all just living in a material world and I'm just a jazz sport girl.

With my Crocs. Well everyone, thank you for learning with me today. Remember, don't be afraid to ask questions to get the whole story because you deserve that. Stay curious. I'd love to hear your guys' reactions to today's story, so make sure to use the hashtag Dark History so I can follow along. Join me over on my YouTube where you can watch these episodes on Thursday after the podcast airs. And while you're there, don't forget to check out my murder mystery makeup.

I hope you have a great day today. You make good choices. And I'll be talking to you next week. Goodbye. Dark History is an Audioboom original. This podcast is executive produced by Bailey Sarian, Junia McNeely from 3Arts, Kevin Grush, and Claire Turner from Maiden Network.

writers Katie Burris, Alison Filobos, Joey Scaluzzo, and me, Bailey Sarian. Shot and edited by Tafadzwa Namarundwe and Hannah Bakker. Research provided by Xander Elmore and the Dark History Researcher team. A special thank you to our experts Rhonda Gerlich and Matt McNabb. And I'm your host, just in case you didn't know, Bailey Sarian. Okay, bye! ♪

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