TOWIE star Gemma Collins slated on social media for unflattering dress

‘TOWIE’ star Gemma Collins has always been a controversial figure when it comes to fashion.

The 36-year-old star regularly pushes boundaries with her style, but last night she caused a furore with her wardrobe choice that is showing no signs of stopping.

On Thursday night, the 36-year-old arrived at the ITV Summer Party wearing a ruched, rust-coloured dress with a chainmail trim.

It wasn’t the length or close fit of the dress that caused such controversy – it was the two, huge shoulder pads that ended up leaving the reality star looked like she’d walked straight out of the 80s.

Posting a photo of her outfit – designed by Gerda Trubon – on Instagram, Gemma revealed she was “rocking [her] inner Lady Gaga.”

Comments began pouring in; most of them negative and most of them unnecessarily brutal.

“I’m sorry but this dress is so unflattering,” one person wrote.

“This dress wasn’t a good choice. Seriously. Don’t ever wear it again,” said another.

Other comments ranged from people saying Gemma “looked like a rugby player” to labelling her look “horrific”.

Some of the most fearsome comments came courtesy of fashion journalist Alexander Fury. Previously the fashion editor of the Independent, he has written for every publication from Vogue to the New York Times.

So it may be surprising to see that the highly respected writer posted a photo sarcastically slating Gemma for her vintage-inspired outfit.

“There is NOTHING I don’t love about this outfit. I’m replicating it by shoving two Happy Meal boxes into a pair of tights with a glitter glue stripe. High fashion,” he captioned a photo of the star on Instagram.

Here are just a few of the damning comments:

“Looks like foreskin.”

“Genuinely looks like a sumo wrestler suit.”

“So chic, so classy, so fashion.”

“Tragic.”

“This is all kinds of nasty.”

Some people, however, weren’t happy with the journalist for criticising a woman’s wardrobe choice. “She isn’t harming anyone and GOD when will it be unacceptable for men to finally stop commenting on women’s appearances,” wrote one woman.

“What about the old saying: ‘if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all’,” wrote another unhappy person.

Criticising a woman simply for her outfit is one thing but to bring someone’s weight and body shape into the fold is something that shouldn’t be tolerated.

Gemma’s not the only victim. Over the past few months, the likes of Rihanna and Lady Gaga have both been fat-shamed for showing a little flesh.

The fashion industry, in particular, is (supposedly) fighting for feminism and diversity in terms of the bodies that are put on show. For a prominent industry figure to mock a woman’s body and the way she fits into clothes is a complete backwards move.

If someone did the same for the likes of plus-size model Ashley Graham or curvy ‘Orange is the New Black’ star Dascha Polanco, there would be uproar. It appears that Gemma’s reality star status has made her fair game in the eyes of certain individuals.

Let’s hope Gemma fights her corner this time round because there’s nothing worse than a man taking down a woman.

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