ALEXANDRA SHULMAN’S NOTEBOOK: Mob fury in the fashion industry? It’s all the rage

Fashion has long used the power of provocation to promote itself, but times are changing and the shock tactics once able to drive sales are rebounding on the perpetrators.

A furore has broken out over Balenciaga’s recent advertising campaigns that threatens to topple the firm’s head of house, Demna Gvasalia. One shows sad-faced little girls holding teddy bears which have been kitted out in outfits with bondage overtones, below. Another features a Balenciaga handbag perched on top of legal paperwork referring to US Supreme Court ruling on child abuse.

With Kim Kardashian, the hugely influential brand ambassador, saying she’s considering her relationship with the fashion company that has given her countless sensational outfits, and with commentators piling in to offer their tuppence of condemnation, Balenciaga has been trying to distance itself, blaming the set designer for the controversial images.

It’s inconceivable, though, that Balenciaga bosses wouldn’t have known what was in the pictures. As someone who has been involved in the creation of fashion imagery for many years, ignorance is as unlikely as Santa denying he’d ever got a glimpse of a Christmas stocking.

No, big fashion brands are intensely hands-on when it comes to how they want to show their product to the public. Not a single image would have been released without a black-clad team of Balenciaga honchos poring over every detail. What size should the padlock around the neck of the white teddy be? Should the leather straps be around both wrists and ankles?

There have been endless examples of fashion designers using disturbing images to draw attention to their work. In the 1990s, Tom Ford ran a Gucci ad where the female model’s lover was shaving the letter G into her pubic hair. John Galliano conceived a catwalk show based on homeless tramps dressed in newspapers.

But in today’s more puritanical era, Demna is now on the rack. Will the luxury goods conglomerate Kering, which last month fired the highly popular Alessandro Michele from Gucci, consider him too much of a liability?

We live in a different culture now and such sales tactics are coming under a different kind of scrutiny. The audience that once appreciated a tone that was disruptive, edgy and sometimes unpleasant is now far more critical, examining everything for any potential perceived injustice. Social media enables everyone to join the howling mob.

These images are distasteful for sure. They have no validity. But I question whether the current knee-jerk, angry clamour – with society so terribly enthusiastic in the rush to pull the trigger – is a good thing.

Royal loyalty that counted for nothing

A different world perhaps, but there is a similarity between the Balenciaga outcry and that over Lady Susan Hussey’s unfortunate conversation with Ngozi Fulani at a Buckingham Palace reception. Ill-judged and patronising it certainly was, but Lady Susan has by all accounts served the Royal Family, and in particular the late Queen, unstintingly. The notion that she deliberately tried to make Mrs Fulani ‘deny’ her British citizenship is clearly nonsense.

Whether or not the Palace callously chucked Lady Susan out of the fold or her resignation was accepted is unclear, but the immediacy of her departure indicates a mentality where track record counts for nothing, and where years of loyal service are snuffed out for fear of displeasing the noisy commentariat.

’Tis the season for useless gadgets…

Along with Christmas comes the appalling prospect of more stuff arriving in this house. So it was a kind of lunacy last week to buy a large, heated air rail that now has to be stored somewhere.

I can trace life’s stages through gadgets now crammed away in some hard-to-reach spot. The juicer bought when my boyfriend was ill and never used; the patio heater which promised outdoor entertaining in the freezing Covid evenings but didn’t work; the fat-free grill that would help lose the pounds; the spiralizer that would do something with courgettes. They’re all still hanging around.

As yet, I’ve not succumbed to the gadget du jour, the air fryer, but it’s 50-50. As I sit in my haircolourist’s chair, conversations revolve around the current offerings on the Zara website. Most recently, I was scrolling through different air fryers available, urged on by Melanie who swears by hers. Roast salmon in seconds, she says. Just add spicy bayou dressing.

Glued to Meghan’s latest riveting role

With the Sussexes’ Netflix documentary, may I just remind viewers that Meghan is an actress. What a range this performance is allowing her. Tears and laughter, dancing and dismay, revenge and concern. I only wish I had the strength of mind to give it a miss.

A double first in common sense

Bosses are increasingly ignoring employees’ classification of university degree as they recognise, instead, that there are other markers of whether someone will be an effective worker. As the proud possessor of a low 2:2, I could have told them that, but it’s perhaps not such good news for students who are taking out close on £30,000 of student loans for what they hope will get them better-paid job.

Slim chance I could eat like you, Brigitte

I wonder how so many politicians remain relatively trim when they attend so many dinners. The Macrons were entertained at the White House last week with Maine lobster and caviar, followed by beef and triple-cooked butter potatoes, cheese, and orange chiffon cake with roasted pears and a creme fraiche ice cream. I have no idea how Brigitte Macron manages to fit into her slimline Louis Vuitton wardrobe.

When phoning was a lot smarter

When we had only landline phones, we just dialled someone’s number when we wanted to get in touch. Now that we take our mobiles everywhere, we feel obliged to send a text to make an appointment to talk in order to ensure it’s convenient. Surely it was easier to just not pick up the phone if we didn’t feel like answering it.