Diesel criticised for casting Nicki Minaj in anti-bullying campaign
Diesel criticised for casting Nicki Minaj in anti-bullying campaign
In a an attempt to connect more closely to today’s consumers, Italian retailer, Diesel typically recruits controversial and polarizing celebrities. This time, they’ve signed on rapper Nicki Minaj to front a new anti-cyber bullying initiative – and the public isn’t feeling it.
As part of the Autumn/Winter 2018 fashion campaign, everyone from Minaj and Gucci Mane to actors Bella Thorne, Tommy Dorfman and Yoo Ah-in plus model Jonathan Bellini, are featured. The group is taking the most hateful messages they have received on social media and applying them onto a Diesel design — as part of what the brand calls “hate couture.
Nicki Minaj’s T-shirt is emblazoned with the words “The Bad Guy,” while Gucci Mane has “F**k You, Impostor” written on his shirt.
The limited-edition pieces will be available in Diesel stores and online, and customers will also have the opportunity to create their own customized items starting on October 6. Proceeds from the sale of the pieces will be donated in support of anti-bullying programs at Diesel’s non-profit arm, the OTB foundation.
“We wanted to create this controversial irony with our clothes,” says Renzo Rosso, founder of Diesel and president of OTB Group, the holding company of Diesel. “It’s the way we have to communicate today. We have to do it with our lifestyle and irony.”
