viz.

I wonder if the shocked reaction to these designs stems from the genre in which they were presented—that of the fashion show. Reading through your post, I thought about the increasing number of films that deal with issues like the U.S.’s involvement in torture, but no one seems shocked or horrified by those portrayals. I wonder if, on some level, we just have to consider this type of fashion show as an argument; specifically, the only kind of public argument available to fashion designers. What is an outraged designer supposed to do to communicate that outrage? He or she can’t expect to get a lot of public traction out of holding a press conference. Instead, that outrage would be expressed in fashion, and negative reactions to it would likely stem from the fact that fashion is not widely considered an acceptable genre for arguments of this kind (because it is frivolous, or whatever). I don’t know if this was Galliano’s motivation, but certainly it should be considered.