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Tuesday, September 14, 2021

Critics slam AOC's 'Tax The Rich' dress, designed by Toronto’s Aurora James - National Post

U.S. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez turned heads at the MET gala in an off-shoulder white gown with the words 'Tax the Rich' splashed across the back

Author of the article:

Devika Desai

Publishing date:

Sep 14, 2021  •  10 hours ago  •  3 minute read  •  115 Comments
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (L) and Aurora James attend The 2021 Met Gala Celebrating In America: A Lexicon Of Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on September 13, 2021 in New York City.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (L) and Aurora James attend The 2021 Met Gala Celebrating In America: A Lexicon Of Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on September 13, 2021 in New York City. Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images

U.S. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez turned heads, on and off social media, last night after attending the MET gala, donned in an off-shoulder white gown with the words ‘Tax the Rich’ splashed in red across the back.

The dress, Cortez stated, was designed by Aurora James, a Toronto fashion designer.

“Proud to work with @aurorajames, a sustainably-focused, Black woman immigrant designer who went from starting her dream @brothersvellies at a flea market in Brooklyn to winning the @cfda against all odds — and then work together to kick open doors at the Met,” the Democratic politician wrote on Instagram.

Cortez, when on the red carpet, said that the idea for her dress at the Metropolitan Museum of Art gala came out of a conversation around “what it means to be a working class women of color at the Met.”

“And we said we can’t just play along, but we need to break the fourth wall and challenge some of the institutions,” the congresswoman said.

The message displayed on the dress has sent ripples throughout the public, with many taking to Twitter to support and fiercely criticize Cortez’s bold display.

By late Monday evening, at least 100,000 tweets were devoted to the congresswoman’s dress and the statement “Tax the Rich.”

Several poured out their support for Cortez, calling her move ‘iconic’.

“aoc wearing the words tax the rich on her dress? simple iconic,” tweeted writer Ilana Kaplan.

However, others accused Cortez of being hypocritical for blasting the rich while also attending a glitz and glamour event that costs attendees $35,000 a ticket and $200,000 for a table. “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez attending the $35,000-a-ticket #MetGala in a Brother Vellies gown blaring ‘Tax the Rich’ is a complicated proposition,” tweeted Vanessa Friedman, New York Times fashion director/critic.

Right-wing voices such as Sean Spicer, Dave Portnoy and former U.S. president Donald Trump also blasted Cortez on Twitter for the “cool woke” message, while hanging out with some of the richest people in the world.

Part-Canadian and part-Ghanian, James grew up in Guelph, Ont., an hour’s drive west of Toronto. By the time James was seven, her mother and stepfather relocated to Ocho Rios, Jamaica, after her maternal grandmother “fell in love with its relaxed vibe,” Vogue reported.

James moved back to Toronto to study journalism at Ryerson University, but left for the U.S. in 2008 at the beginning of then president Barack Obama’s first term in office.

For years, she worked as a modelling agent and in production at Fashion Television, before deciding to take a hiatus to “focus on gardening,” the Wall Street Journal reported, which included a trip across Africa in 2011.

Her travels across the continent would change the trajectory of her life. Inspired by the local artisans and factories, especially a South African workshop that turned out leather vellies — a type of South African walking show made from vegetable-tanned leather — she would spend the next few years experimenting with different designs, testing them at markets in New York and working with artisanal groups.

By 2013, she founded the Brothers Vellies, with $3,500 in savings, to create original, chic shoes preserving the African art of shoemaking while also creating jobs for artisans in Africa.

By the spring of 2014, the first formal Brothers Vellies collection was released, created entirely with shoemakers in South Africa.

James’ eye for distinctive, comfortable footwear was quickly noticed within the fashion industry and worldwide, earning the Council of Fashion Designers of America/Vogue fashion fund design award in 2015. Celebrities such as Beyonce Knowles, Solange Knowles, Megan Markle, Zendaya, Lady Gaga and Nicki Minaj have been seen wearing her designs.

In 2020, in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests that followed the murder of George Floyd, James launched the non-profit 15 Percent Pledge, created to urge major retailers to commit 15 per cent of their shelf-space to Black-owned businesses.

Neither Cortez, nor James have as yet commented on the controversy surrounding the design of the dress.

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Critics slam AOC's 'Tax The Rich' dress, designed by Toronto’s Aurora James - National Post
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