The fashion industry may occasionally resort to shallow slogans, but it should not shy away from addressing critical social issues and decisions that could impede people's liberties.
Last Sunday, for example, as Milan Fashion Week came to an end, during an awarding ceremony, Donatella Versace, creative director of the fashion house founded by her brother Gianni Versace since his murder in 1997, took a stand against the anti-LGBTQ+ policies of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's far-right-led coalition.
Speaking at Milan's La Scala during the CNMI (Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana - National Chamber for Italian Fashion) Sustainable Fashion Awards 2023, Donatella Versace expressed her concerns, highlighting a government policy that recognizes only the biological parent in same-sex couples as the official parent. She decried these actions as an infringement on personal freedoms and called for a collective effort to defend these rights.
"Here in Italy, it has never been more important for us to champion minority voices. Our government is set on taking away the rights of individuals to live as they wish," she stated. "The freedom to walk down the street with your head held high and without fear, whatever your identity. The freedom to start a family and live the way we want. The freedom to love who we want. We all have a duty to fight for our freedom."
"At a time when trans people are still victims of terrible violence, when children of same-sex couples are not considered their children and when minorities are targeted by new legislation … we still have much to do," Versace added.
In a poignant moment, Versace fondly recalled the day her brother Gianni came out to her, emphasizing her unwavering love and acceptance for him, regardless of whom he chose to love (yet it is worth remembering that the family had a feud with Gianni's boyfriend Antonio D'Amico, after the designer's death; D'Amico died in 2022).
Donatella Versace referred in her speech to a contentious new policy, where the Ministry of Interior now insists that in cases where same-sex couples have children via surrogacy abroad, only one biological parent should be registered on their child's birth certificates.
For a period, certain municipalities in Italy recorded both parents of the same gender on their children's birth certificates. However, this year, under the leadership of Giorgia Meloni (from neofascist party Brothers of Italy), the Italian government initiated a requirement for councils to register only the biological parent.
Consequently, some cities removed the name of the non-biological gay parents from their children's birth certificates. This has left these families in a sort of limbo, as the second father or mother has virtually no authority to make essential decisions, such as taking the child to the doctor or picking them up from school, without the legal parent's authorization. If the legal parent passes away or becomes seriously ill, the surviving partner has no legal rights over the children, potentially leading to the children becoming wards of the state or being placed with other relatives.
The government has defended its decision to restrict the inclusion of gay parents on birth certificates, asserting that this action, in line with a ruling from Italy's top appeals court, will not hinder children's access to education or medical services through their sole legal parent. Yet, navigating bureaucratic processes, medical appointments, or meetings with teachers is already challenging when caring for an orphaned nephew, niece, or grandchild in Italy but lacking official legal guardianship on paper. Consequently, same-sex parents in Italy are enduring a harrowing ordeal in their daily lives. The quickest solution would be to officially recognize same-sex parenthood.
Italy legalized same-sex civil unions in 2016 but refrained from granting gay couples the right to adopt due to opposition from right-wing parties and the Catholic church. Additionally, IVF remains prohibited for homosexual couples in Italy. Moreover, the Italian parliament passed a bill in July imposing substantial fines of up to €1 million (£855,000) and prison sentences of up to two years on Italians who seek surrogacy abroad to have children (a 2004 law already banned surrogacy within Italy).
Italy ranks among the worst countries in Western Europe concerning LGBTQ+ rights: the country approved same-sex civil unions in 2016, becoming the last major Western nation to do so. Yet Italy still prohibits same-sex marriage, "stepchildren adoption," and surrogacy, with these restrictions being attributed to opposition from the Catholic Church by advocacy groups. Meloni's government is exacerbating the erosion of the few rights accrued by the community thus far.
Versace, who received a prize for equity and inclusivity, attended the awards ceremony with Alessandro Zan, a Democratic party lawmaker responsible for drafting in 2018 a bill aimed at expanding anti-discrimination protections for the LGBTQ+ community and at banning discrimination on the grounds of sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or disability. Unfortunately, the legislation had stalled even before the Meloni government took office.
The audience at La Scala responded with a standing ovation to Versace's speech. But, while gay rights activists commended her for her forthright challenge to the government's homophobic policies, they also urged the entire fashion community to take a more active role in this fight. Donatella Versace is the first and, so far, only prominent figure in the Italian fashion industry to openly and explicitly confront the government's homophobic politics. Evidently, many others are hesitant, fearing potential repercussions and the loss of consumers.
The Italian fashion industry has traditionally been conservative if not overtly right wing (the Fontana sisters were very Conservatives; Dolce & Gabbana often claimed they are right-wing supporters; even Santo Versace, Gianni's brother, was an MP for Berlusconi's party until 2011), while, as a young woman, Miuccia Prada joined the Italian Communist Party.
Versace has so far used her platform to champion LGBTQ+ rights: in June 2022, Capri Holdings, the parent company of her fashion label, established the Versace Foundation that provides backing for initiatives and endeavors aimed at fostering awareness and solidarity for the LGBTQ+ community.
"My friends and my team are not defined by race, religion, age, gender, or sexual orientation, but by creativity, openness, joy, and kindness, the values that truly matter. If we were all more welcoming and understanding towards each other, what an extraordinary world it would be," Versace concluded at the awarding ceremony.
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