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 Pop superstar Elton John, leading the chorus of criticism,
called for a boycott of the brand on Sunday.
Victoria Beckham, a former Dolce and Gabbana ambassador, offered
John sympathy on Monday, sending a "message of love" to the
singer, his husband partner David Furnish and their two sons
Zachary and Elijah, and to "all the beautiful IVF babies".
Rock star Courtney Love accused the Italian pair of "senseless
bigotry".
But Gabbana dug his heels in, saying they were entitled to their
opinion and calling John a fascist.
An industry expert doubted any boycott call would have any
effect.
Concetta Lanciaux, a luxury industry consultant and former
adviser to Bernard Arnault, CEO and founder of luxury group LVMH,
said she did not think John's boycott demand would have an
impact on D&G’s sales.
“Consumers understand the humor of Domenico and Stefano, who are
known for their wit. In addition, new consumers, even if they do
not agree with the statement, like to think we live in a free
world where people still can express their feelings and
opinions,” she said.
The furor erupted after Italian magazine Panorama quoted
Sicilian-born Dolce as criticizing fertility treatment and
same-sex parenting.
"You are born and you have a father and a mother. Or at least it
should be like this, that's why I am not convinced by chemical
children, synthetic babies, wombs for rent," Dolce said.
John responded angrily, vowing to never wear Dolce and Gabbana
clothes again.
"How dare you refer to my beautiful children as 'synthetic'. And
shame on you for wagging your judgmental little fingers at IVF
... Your archaic thinking is out of step with the times, just
like your fashions," John said.
Friends and celebrities from the acting, fashion and music world
rallied to the cause.
Love said in her tweet: "Just round up all my Dolce & Gabbana
pieces, I want to burn them ... boycott senseless bigotry!"
"WAKE UP, IT'S 2015"
Singer Ricky Martin, who is gay and has twin sons by a surrogate
mother, wrote: "Your voices are too powerful to be spreading too
much hate. Wake up, it's 2015. Love yourself guys."
Screenwriter Ryan Murphy, who created the TV show Glee and also
has a child via a surrogate with his husband, said: "These
designers' horrifying views are never in fashion. Their clothes
are as ugly as their hate."
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Dolce and Gabbana, whose clients have ranged from Madonna to the
Italian soccer team, have marketed one of their new collections
around the theme of family.
Their fashion show featured models clutching babies on the catwalk
and one male sweater sported a photo print of a traditional family.
The pair once had a romantic relationship but have remained business
partners after it ended.
Dolce said his Sicilian upbringing made him pretty traditional.
Gabbana said in a statement on Sunday they did not intend to express
judgment of other people's choices but he believed in freedom of
expression.
However, as the storm raged on Monday, Gabbana took a harder line.
"I wasn't expecting it from a person like Elton John whom I
considered -- I underline considered -- intelligent. You preach
understanding, you preach tolerance and then you attack? Just
because someone thinks differently to you?" he told Corriere della
Sera newspaper.
Asked if he had spoken to John, he said: "It's useless, this is just
an authoritarian way of seeing things: if you agree with me, good,
otherwise I'll attack. And I wrote to him, in the comments on
Instagram: fascist."
Dolce had said he felt he could not have a child because he was gay.
"Domenico said he would prefer a classical family, that's his
opinion. He doesn't feel at ease with assisted fertility, that's his
traditional Sicilian imprinting," Gabbana said.
The furor has echoes of the John Galliano affair. The head designer
for Christian Dior was dismissed after an anti-Semitic rant in a
Paris bar in 2011. He was also convicted in a French court of making
racist comments.
However, Gabbana seemed not to be worried about the possible
business impact on the firm, which is not publicly listed.
"Maybe we'll lose some Elton John fans, maybe we'll get some
mothers, who knows?" Gabbana told Corriere della Sera.
(Additional reporting by James Mackenzie and Astrid Wendlandt;
Editing by Giles Elgood)
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