Iranian model's 'disgraceful' noose dress and other controversial fashion moments
Mahlagha Jaberi claims she intended to "make a statement" about the executions taking place in her home country.
A model has come under fire at the 2023 Cannes film festival after wearing an outfit that resembled a noose.
Mahlagha Jaberi, 33, took to the red carpet in a black dress featuring a rope detail on Tuesday, which the Iranian-born model said was intended to "make a statement" about the executions taking place in her home country.
"We wanted to make a fashion statement to observe the glamour of Cannes, but more importantly, to bring media attention to the wrongful executions of Iranian people," she wrote on Instagram.
The Jila Saber-designed gown also featured "Stop Executions" slogan on the back, but Jaberi said security prevented her from showing it to photographers.
Iranian authorities have executed at least 200 people this year, according to the UN.
Jaberi’s politically motivated dress divided the internet, with some admiring her “bold and beautiful” look and others declaring it “absolutely disgraceful”.
Jaberi’s dress isn’t the first time noose knots have caused a stir in the fashion world.
Givenchy was accused of “glamorising suicide” for its noose necklace on the runway at Paris Fashion Week in 2021, whilst Burberry had to issue an apology for a hoodie with a noose-like knot on the catwalk in 2019.
As the Iranian model’s noose dress at Cannes film festival continues to divide opinion, see other times divisive outfits have caused controversy in the fashion world.
Controversial celebrity fashion moments
Lady Gaga's "meat dress"
One of the most divisive looks in recent years is Lady Gaga’s ‘meat dress’, worn at the 2010 VMAs and made entirely out of raw meat.
According to Gaga, it was to raise awareness of the US Military’s ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy on military service of non-heterosexual people.
"At the time, they were trying to repeal 'don't ask, don't tell,'" she told British Vogue in 2021. "We decided to do the meat dress because I thought to myself, 'If you were willing to die for your country, what does it matter how you identify?'"
However, PETA disapproved of the Franc Fernandez-designed dress, calling it "offensive".
Bjork's swan dress
Not all celebrity outfits are controversial for the wrong reasons. Some are as bizarre as they are well known simply for standing out and stepping away from the status quo.
Case in point: Björk’s famous ‘swan dress’ from the 2001 Oscars red carpet.
Rihanna's 2018 Met Gala look
For the 2018 Met Gala, Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination, Rihanna wore a show-stopping embellished outfit by Maison Margiela.
However, many Christians were offended by her wearing a mitre - a tall pointed headpiece usually reserved for bishops, and the Pope.
Prince Harry's Nazi costume
A 20-year-old Prince Harry caused outrage when he dressed up as a Nazi for a fancy dress party in 2005.
The young prince was pictured wearing a Nazi soldier’s uniform with a swastika armband, and later admitted that the ill-advised costume was “probably one of the biggest mistakes of my life” in the Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan.
Jennifer Lopez's Grammys dress
Jennifer Lopez’s Versace dress worn on the 2000 Grammy Awards red carpet will go down in fashion history as one of the most notable looks, after the revealing gown even sparked the launch of Google Images.
Serena Williams’ French Open catsuit
Serena Williams caused a stir at the 2018 Roland Garros French Open for wearing a black catsuit that made her feel "like a warrior in it, a warrior princess...from Wakanda".
Williams, who had given birth to her daughter Alexis via caesarean six months prior and had been suffering blood clots, needed to wear the tight catsuit for compression, to keep her blood circulating during play.
Even though the Nike-designed outfit didn’t break any rules, French Tennis Federation president Bernard Giudicelli thought that she'd "gone too far" with the design, and the French Open later introduced a more stringent dress code.
Rose McGowan's VMA naked dress
Actor Rose McGowan caused a stir in one of the original ‘naked dresses’ on the 1998 VMA red carpet.
“It was my first big public appearance after being sexually assaulted,” McGowan, who has long alleged that Harvey Weinstein raped her in 1997, told Yahoo in 2020. “I just felt like, ‘Oh Hollywood, would you want a body just that you can use and throw away? Then I've got one for you!’”
Joy Villa's Grammy Awards gowns
Singer Joy Villa – who is known for her outspoken support of former United States President Donald Trump – wore a ‘build the wall’ dress to the 2019 Grammy Awards in support of his Mexico–United States border wall, which featured a brick pattern and barbed wire neck piece.
It was her third controversial Grammy Awards gown in a row, following an anti-abortion dress in 2018 and a ‘Make America Great Again’ dress in 2017.
Kim Kardashian’s Marilyn Monroe Met Gala look
Kim Kardashian made headlines in 2022 when she wore Marilyn Monroe’s famous “Happy Birthday Mr President” dress on the Met Gala red carpet, but it was her widely publicised weight loss to fit into the dress that people criticised for the promotion of “dangerous” crash dieting.
Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez's Met Gala gown
US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez came under fire for her "Tax the Rich" gown worn to the 2021 Met Gala, with many calling her hypocritical for addressing economic inequality at an event that cost $30,000 to attend.
She later addressed the hypocrisy allegations by stating that “many elected officials regularly attend due to our responsibilities in keeping cultural institutions accessible to the public”.
Katy Perry’s cultural appropriation
Singer Katy Perry received backlash in 2013 after she dressed as a Geisha for a performance at the American Music Awards.
“Even in my intention to appreciate Japanese culture, I did it wrong with a performance,” Perry later told civil rights activist DeRay McKesson.
