Emily Ratajkowski Defends Dress Called ‘Vulgar’ and ‘Repugnant’ by Tim Gunn

At a New York Fashion Week party, Emily Ratajkowski wore a dress designed by Julien Macdonald. The incredibly low-cut piece grazed her belly button, a silhouette very similar to the one Jennifer Lopez made famous at the 2000 Grammys. The model and actress posed confidently on the red carpet, even sharing a photo of herself with the explosion emoji. Yet even though she liked the look, Tim Gunn, who appeared as a guest host on E’s Fashion Police, took issue with the cut-out LBD, calling it “appallingly vulgar” and “repugnant.”

The show’s co-host, NeNe Leakes, defended the 25-year-old’s fashion choice, saying, “At least she doesn’t have her nipples out.” But Gunn defended himself, saying, “That’s my point. Is this all driven by social media? Is this all just about [getting] everybody shocked? And I will tell you, I’m not shocked. I lived through the 1960s. No decade was more shocking than that, when it comes to fashion.”

Ratajkowski, who’s a self-described feminist, took to Twitter to address Gunn’s comments and noted the similarities between the recent burkini controversy in France, which policed women from covering up in full swimsuits. “Western men in 2016: Want to ban women abroad from voluntarily covering themselves at the beach then want women to cover up their “vulgar” bodies at home,” she shared on Twitter. “Who controls women’s bodies in 2016? It’s 2016. Why keep trying to dictate what women can wear?”

Coincidentally, Ratajkowski recently addressed similar issues in an open letter featured in Glamour. After speaking at a rally for Bernie Sanders in February, she was heavily trolled on social media for attention seeking. “Our society tells women we can’t be, say, sexy and confident and opinionated about politics,” she wrote. “This would allow us too much power. Instead our society asks us to declare and defend our motivations, which makes us second-guess them, all while men do what they please without question.” She continued, “We shouldn’t have to apologize for wanting attention either. We don’t owe anyone an explanation. It’s not our responsibility to change the way we are seen — it’s society’s responsibility to change the way it sees us.”

While she certainly couldn’t have predicted Gunn’s commentary prior to publishing her essay, the words are still incredibly relevant, which Ratajkowski pointed out. “When I wrote my Glamour article, I was just thinking of men who call women attention seeking for being sexy,” she tweeted. “I wasn’t even thinking of the hosts of nationally televised shows who call women ‘vulgar’ because they can see their stomachs.”

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