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Guess takes a stand for women with Denim Day

By Kristopher Fraser

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Fashion

Violence against women in our global culture is one of the most significant and imperative issues of our time. For an industry built on the intellect, innovation, talent, and genius of many beautiful, gifted, and stunningly well dressed women, it is important for the fashion industry to take a stand on this vital issue. Guess Inc. is one of the companies that has used their global platform to draw attention to women's right issues.

One of the most glamorous and fashionable ways they have done so was last week with Guess Denim Day in Milan. “The problem of violence is ongoing, and present in many countries, but it affects women disproportionately,” Paul Marciano, CEO and Creative Director of Guess Inc., was quoted saying to WWD. This year at the Guess inaugural European Denim Day event, Guess partnered with The Circle Italia, a women's organization connected to Oxfam, and Di.Re, a non-profit organization devoted to fighting all forms of sexual and domestic violence and supporting women in need.

Guess is committing 10 percent of their profits from May 16 to the 29 at 90 of their boutiques to go towards Di.Re. Guess is certainly putting their mouth where their visual merchandising is as well, with window signs flashing messages like "There is No Excuse #1 -She Was Wearing Tight Jeans" and "There is No Excuse #5 - She was drunk and partying." Guess will also be selling a 22 dollar denim bag and a 16 dollar keychain, sales of which will all go towards Di.Re.

Guess works to combat violence against women

Last Thursday, a silent auction was held in Milan where historic Guess campaign images, books, and limited edition jackets created by American artists were sold to help raise money for Di.Re. At the auction cocktail party, Titti Carrano, Di.Re President, said, "the fundamental problem of male violence against women is a cultural one…and so it’s there, at the root of the problem, that we have to have an impact." Marciano elaborated on this point, saying,"[violence against women] is not an easy subject to address; it’s not a popular topic. It’s almost a borderline disturbing topic, and that’s exactly the challenge. Because in today’s world, in 2015, that these things happen… and that nobody talks about it disgusts me.”

Denim Day originated in 1998 as a response to an Italian supreme court ruling which stated that a young woman must have engaged in consensual sex because her "jeans were too tight to remove without assistance," so her assailant could not have sexually assaulted her. Peace Over Violence, a Los Angeles-based non-profit, encouraged people to wear tight jeans on April 29 to show their solidarity with the aforementioned woman in the case. Patti Giggans, Executive Director of Peace Over Violence and founder of Denim Day, said that it's important to understand that clothes "are really not the cause of anything."

While Guess might be famous for their very sexualized ads depicting women, Marciano has made it clear that whether heavily sexualized or not, women should be allowed to be sexy and sensual without being targets or objects of violence and sexual assault. “I’ll never be able to create an image that everyone will like,” he explained, adding: “My idols were always Sophia Loren, Brigitte Bardot and Marilyn Monroe, and today, 50 years later, they’re still symbols of world cinema, and they were always associated with a very feminine and sexy image — and that isn’t a bad thing, not at all. These women, these actresses, they created a dream around the world. In my photos, I try to re-create and reimagine dreamlike images." Guess is doing just a small part of a larger conversation, but, their work is truly admirable.

Denim
Di.Re
Guess
Marciano
Women's Rights