Dolce Gabbana is gearing up for its Taste of Italy event during Washington’s “Winter Mela” festival, set for the following weekend, and the Italian fashion house has tapped Tchiya Okoro as its ambassador for the line. Okoro is an Instagram influencer who made headlines last month for her post after she confirmed she was fighting an eating disorder. After seeing the feedback, she shared her story again in an op-ed in The Washington Post.
Meanwhile, Balenciaga put several women in its logo-heavy “Nude” coat and inspired their look to be worn only at December’s spring presentation. Called “Nude Feud,” it was featured in an Instagram post that didn’t mention them, which we’ve now learned was a faux pas. One of the women featured, Julie Frost, wrote in a series of Instagram posts after the show that the brand intentionally planned to “appeal to the worst of society… We play in the gutter, and in the end we call it fashion.” As part of a backlash, the catwalk collection has been pulled.
Ellen DeGeneres’s star-studded Oscar selfie last year is still going strong, thanks to Novartis using it as the campaign for a shingles vaccine. GlaxoSmithKline donated the royalty from the selfie to GSK to fight the disease, using a humorous commercial that focused on people who have lost their fingers and toes.
Finally, Cinco de Mayo is officially a street festival, with more than 100 events set up around the United States. Get a rundown here.