'Tattoo' clothing under fire
The clothing line that sold out in Los Angeles in ten minutes, according to the designer, is under fire by blogger Natalie Karneef who wrote a blog item titled "An Open Letter to H&M from a Rape Survivor": "…H&M, you have created a line of clothing based on her character: a woman who has suffered a lifetime of abuse, who is violently raped, and who is hunting down a man who violently rapes and kills other women."
"Lisbeth has been through hell, and her clothing is her armor. That's her choice, and it's an understandable choice. But you glamorize it, putting a glossy, trendy finish on the face of sexual violence and the rage and fear it leaves behind."
H&M did not return our request for comment. In a statement to the Wall Street Journal, a spokesperson for H&M wrote, "We have read the open letter by Natalie Karnefwe apologize if she or anyone has been offended by the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo collection by Trish Summerville – this has not in any way been our intent. The collection is based on and inspired by the film and character Lisbeth Salander and though we think Lisbeth is a strong woman who stands up for her ideal, we are not trying to represent her specifically."
The spokesperson continued, "Our goal is to rather offer a collection that we see in today's trend picture that will appeal to many customers. We do not view this collection as provocative-it contains pieces that are staples in many people's wardrobes: jeans, biker jackets and t-shirts. It's all about how you wear them. We encourage our customers to find their own personal way to wear our products."
The brand also came under fire last week for using virtual models to sell apparel online.
The 30-piece Dragon Tattoo collection that ranges in price from $9.95 to $199 is the work of Trish Summerville, who worked as the costume designer for the David Fincher film. The costume design for the Swedish trilogy was done by Cilla Rorby.
Summerville declined to comment for our story.
The clothing line is a marriage of grays and black is made for mass consumption. In the past, H&M has done collections with Madonna, Stella McCartney and other famous people.
"I doubt that H&M's desire to create a clothing line based on the Lisbeth Salander character in 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo' has as much to do with glamorizing rape culture as it does with capitalizing off of what's sure to be a blockbuster film," said Julie Gerstein, style editor for The Frisky, a woman's lifestyle blog. "As it is, basing a collection off of a dystopian nightmare of a story hardly makes for a strong and well developed fashion line. It seems more of a marketing decision than a statement on rape culture," said Gerstein.
At issue is not H&M glamorizing rape, says Karneef, but "glamorizing surviving rape." The release of the line comes days ahead of the Dec. 21 opening of the English speaking version of "Dragon" starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara.
"My fear is that people will watch the film and have this impression of the heroine and what she endured to be that person," Karneef told ABC News. "I did not go through what she went through but I don't want people to not acknowledge how much [rape] destroys a life. Any type of abuse breaks a person down."
"It's really easy to say 'yeah, she is cool' but what [Lisbeth] went through is really disturbing," she continued.
Salander is an unlikely heroine, or anti-heroine, who's Goth or grungy threads may be born as a result of her history or from her lifestyle. A computer hacker, the fictional character was made famous by the late author Stieg Larrson in his novel "Män som hatar kvinnor," which translates to "Men Who Hate Women." (The title was changed to Dragon Tattoo for the foreign audience.)
The book is a part of the Millennium series that brought to life the Salander character after the author was allegedly wracked with guilt after witnessing a gang rape or, as a former colleague stated, it came from a desire to create an aged and dysfunctional Pippi Longstocking-like character.
"The piece was not meant to be about how I dress or how anyone else dresses or even the film," Karneef told ABC News.
And, with nearly 1 in 5 women in the US being a victim of rape, according to a recent survey by the CDC, Karneef says it's important that people think about the issue.
"It was supposed to lead you to question the association of a clothing line with a victim of rape and abuse."
"I think it's a negative connection to make with fashion," the 34-year-old Montreal resident told ABC News. "I wanted people to think about before they went out and bought the clothes."I think they're trying to reach people that see her as a hero and my fear is they're trying to target people who aren't going to think about what's behind why she is the hero that she is," Karneef told ABC News.
"I fear people will think that what she 's been through is not a big deal. That's a prevalent line in our culture: 'Get over it.'"
Source: abcnews