These 12 Popular Fashion

Brands Got Caught Up In

MAJOR Scandals. #11 Is An
Outrage!
LIFESTYLE Published Mar 3, 2015
By Anna Halkidis

Woman Gets Dumped By Her

Fiancé, So She Moves Into A
Van And Turns It Into Her Dre…
Fashion is meant to be an outlet for
expression. But, from time to time, the
most popular companies have
come under fire for their designs — and
sometimes even their words.

Affordable stores like Forever 21 and

H&M, as well as high-end
brands like Dolce & Gabbana, have both
been slammed alike for fashion
decisions deemed inappropriate by
critics.

In 2011, for example, Forever 21 sold a shirt

that read “Allergic to Algebra,”
promoting a negative message to
young girls about education. A year
prior, American Apparel printed a
women’s T-shirt that read “Eat Less,”
which some considered harmful to those
with body issues.

Other stores like Victoria’s Secret and

American Apparel faced similar
situations for ads that appeared
insensitive or way too risqué. And, in
other instances, industry moguls like
Kenneth Cole himself and the CEO of
Abercrombie & Fitch found themselves
trying to defend their controversial
statements.

Check out 12 memorable fashion world

scandals below, and make sure to
SHARE this story with all the fashion
lovers you know!

YouTube Screenshot

1. Calvin Klein

I’m sure the Beliebers were happy to see

their favorite pop star posing for Calvin
Klein. Yet, others were angry, claiming
Justin Bieber’s abs were heavily
Photoshopped for the ad.

Getty Images

2. Nike

For years, the athletic footwear and

apparel company was bashed for
reported abuse and unfair wages in its
international factories. In the early
2000s, the company began factory
audits and then released a report that
admitted to glitches. Nike has been
sharing this information ever since.

Getty Images

3. Abercrombie & Fitch

Abercrombie & Fitch doesn't really

accommodate people of all shapes and
sizes. According to the company's
CEO, Mike Jeffries, that decision
is intentional. In 2006, he caused an
uproar when he told Salon: "Candidly, we
go after the cool kids. We go after the
attractive, all-American kid with a great
attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of
people don’t belong [in our clothes], and
they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary?
Absolutely."

Getty Images

4. Victoria’s Secret

After angering many, the lingerie

company quietly changed an ad
campaign in 2014 from “The Perfect
‘Body' ” to “A Body for Every Body."

If you thought these were pretty bad,

the ones on the next page will shock
you a little more!

Instagram

5. Topshop

Many weren't happy in 2011 when the

company used a photo of model Codie
Young, in which she looked incredibly
thin. Topshop eventually replaced the
photo with another.

How An Accusation Of Caretaker

Abuse And Munchausen Syndrome
Destroyed An Entire Family

Getty Images

6. H&M

The company received backlash in 2014

for a green jumpsuit, which some said
resembled the uniforms of female
Kurdish soldiers fighting ISIS. H&M
apologized and said it had no "intention
to offend."

Getty Images

7. Forever 21

In 2013, the company was bashed for

creating a "Straight Outta Compton"
collection that featured T-shirts of
rapper Ice Cube and another with
the words “City of Compton." Many were
angry about the cultural
insensitivity. Forever 21 quickly yanked
the shirts off its website.

Getty Images

8. Zara

The store faced similar issues to those of

H&M when it designed a children's T-
shirt that looked similar to those worn
by prisoners in concentration camps.
Zara quickly removed it from its stores
and website.

Go to the next page to see how Kim

Kardashian was also mixed up in some
controversy!

Getty Images

9. Dolce & Gabbana

The earrings on the model above

(featured in Dolce & Gabbana's
spring/summer 2013 collection) stirred
major controversy among people who
found their similarity to Blackamoor
imagery offensive. Others deemed the
earrings of a black woman with a basket
of fruit on her head racially insensitivity.
The fashion house responded on its
website, Swide.com, and said that the
earrings are based on "Moorish" figures,
or "a term used to define many peoples
throughout history."

Instagram

10. American Apparel

The brand has been caught up in a

messy situation several times because
of its very risqué ads.

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11. Skechers

Remember that steamy Super Bowl

commercial in 2011 that showed Kim
Kardashian kicking her trainer to the
curb for her Skechers Shape-ups? Well,
shortly after, the Federal Trade
Commission found that the company's
alleged health benefits of the shoe were
fabricated. The government agency
sued Skechers, which agreed to
a settlement.

Getty Images

12. Kenneth Cole

In 2011, the designer himself tweeted:

"Millions are in uproar in #Cairo. Rumor is
they heard our new spring collection is
now available online..." His tweet, which
referenced the anti-government
protests in Egypt that year, was deemed
insensitive by many.
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How An Accusation Of
Caretaker Abuse And
Munchausen Syndrome
Destroyed An Entire Family
LIFESTYLE Published Oct 24, 2022
By Stephanie Kaloi (she/her/hers)

HRAUN/iStock

Beata and Jack Kowalski brought their

10-year-old daughter Maya Kowalski to
Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in
St. Petersburg, Florida, in 2016. Maya was
complaining of intense pain; her parents
shared that she had been diagnosed
with the little understood condition
called complex regional pain syndrome,
or CRPS.

Beata and Jack explained that part of

the neurological condition meant that
Maya was extremely sensitive to any
number of potential stimuli. She typically
used a wheelchair to get around
because of the pain she experienced in
her leg and feet when she tried to walk.

iStock

As detailed by The Cut, the hospital's

staff was wary of Beata and Jack from
the beginning. Maya had a strong
reaction when a nurse tried to perform
an ultrasound and Beata told her that
only ketamine injections help. The nurse
called in a social worker, who began
asking questions.

HRAUN/iStock

Social worker Debra Hansen filed a

complaint about potential child abuse
with the state of Florida after Beata
suggested the treatment over an exam;
the initial report was tossed out due to
lack of evidence. Another person
involved with Maya's care sought advice
from Dr. Sally Smith, who is considered
an expert in medical child abuse cases.

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Teeranan Sukkong/Getty Images

The person who called in Dr. Smith was

fellow doctor Beatriz Teppa Sanchez,
who questioned to use of ketamine to
treat CRPS. By the next day, another
social worker had complained to the
state. The new report accused Maya's
mother of "mental issues" and stated, "It
was stated that Maya is not in pain.
Mom insists that Maya is in pain."

Dr. Smith was asked to launch a formal

investigation.

saengsuriya13/iStock

Dr. Smith soon looked up Maya's medical

records, which were compiled from
nearly 30 different physicians. She
began to wonder if Maya was really
experiencing Munchausen syndrome by
proxy, when a parent makes a child sick
on purpose for attention.

Maya was still hospitalized during the

investigation, but her parents asked to
take her home after two days. The
hospital told Beata and Jack they would
be arrested if they left against medical
advice, a statement that was later
proven untrue.

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iStock

Dr. Smith officially diagnosed Maya with

Munchausen syndrome by proxy and
the state of Florida ordered the hospital
to keep Maya in place. Her parents were
no longer allowed any contact with her
and were told their daughter was now in
state custody.

Jackie Kennedy's Former Secret

Service Agent Says He Attempted
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emholk/iStock

Not much is understood about CRPS.

Beata and Jack Kowalski told authorities
that Maya's pain began in 2015. The
condition is extremely real, and it is
sometimes called the "suicide disease"
because of the toll it takes on those who
suffer from it. Maya began receiving
ketamine injections at the suggestion of
a doctor, and the family agreed after
researching the treatment.

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sew cream/iStock

When Beata brought Maya to the

hospital in St. Petersburg, she was
apprehensive. As an immigrant, she had
encountered tough attitudes at
hospitals before. Dr. Smith didn't believe
Beata's stories about Maya's pain and
contacted the doctor who had
prescribed the ketamine treatments, Dr.
Kirkpatrick. He urged Dr. Smith to avoid a
situation that "could result in needless
and permanent harm to the child and
family."

Tempura/iStock

The hospital separated Maya from her

parents in part to see if her condition
would improve, as is typical in
Munchausen cases. Maya didn't
improve, and Dr. Smith came up with a
new hypothesis: Maya herself was
making up the pain. The shelter order
remained in place, with Jack able to visit
Maya in person and Beata restricted to
video calls, which the hospital would
sometimes deny at its own discretion.

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Ninoon/iStock

Beata offered to move out of the family's

home if Maya could return, but was
denied. Maya spent several holidays,
including her birthday and Christmas, in
the hospital without her family. The
family had another court date that
resulted in no change, and within days
Beata had died by suicide.

kieferpix/iStock

Maya found out about her mother's

death from her father, who was allowed
to visit for one hour. Hospital staff
discussed Beata's death via text,
implying that her mental illness was the
cause, though Beata was never
diagnosed with any conditions.

The judge in the family's next court case

received a letter that Beata had written
before taking her own life. Maya was
remanded back to her father's custody.

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demaerre/iStock

Maya left the hospital weaker and

weighing less than she did when she
arrived. Nearly two years after the
experience, her symptoms began to
subside — something that is typical of
CRPS patients.

Maya's family sued the hospital as well

as several providers involved in 2018,
and in 2022 Dr. Smith (along with
another provider) settled her portion of
the lawsuit.

Jack explains, "Psychologically, it

destroyed all of us. When somebody
knocks on our door, now you don’t want
to answer it because you’re worried it’s
somebody from Children and Families.
You don’t want your child to play sports
because if they get hurt, where am I
going to take them?"

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MAYA KOWALSKI MUNCHAUSEN SYNDROME