Patrick Couderc, the UK managing director of Hervé Leger, has been sacked after making homophobic and body-shaming comments about women. Couderc told the Mail on Sunday that “voluptuous” women and women with “very prominent hips and a very flat chest” should not wear the iconic bandage style dresses originated by Hervé Leger designer Hervé Peugnet (he changed his surname on the advice of Karl Lagerfeld, who thought Americans wouldn’t be able to pronounce it) and continued today by Max Azria.
Couderc also claimed that “committed lesbians” would want to steer clear of the design, as they don’t like tight clothing and prefer to be “butch and leisurely,” adding a special message for older women: “Yes, you have a 12th of an inch around your stomach, it’s not really a disaster, and what you’re not noticing is that your cleavage is about two inches too low because you are 55 and it’s time that you should not display everything like you’re 23.”
As a voluptuous lesbian, this dress most definitely isn’t for me, because @herveleger is a lesbophobic body fascist https://t.co/EDKxMNmp0I
— amy lamé (@amylame) August 17, 2015
If the #bandagedress is your thing, then rock it…but find one from a designer who isn’t shaming lesbians and voluptuous women. #HerveLeger
— Lauren P (@LaurBob) August 17, 2015
Of course — and quite rightly — a social media storm ensued, with Margaret Cho calling for a boycott of the bandage dress. The real bigwigs at Hervé Leger have now responded to say that Couderc’s views, “are not a reflection of Hervé Léger by Max Azria or MJH Fashion ideals,” adding that the rogue UK boss, “is no longer associated with the company.” Good.
Credits
Photography CHRISTOPHER MACSURAK via Flickr