Wolfgang Joop has apologized for what he said about women in the modeling industry. The German fashion designer wrote on Instagram and Facebook that he wanted to apologize to all those who were upset or hurt by his statement. In an interview with Spiegel, Joop said that the earlier fashion world was “so wonderfully frivolous and frigid”: “Everything was for sale”, can be read in the interview on the part of the designer. “The agencies gave the keys to the rooms of the models, who did not bring that much money, to rich men.” If a “girl” complained about it, the woman was made clear that she could be done without. When the interviewer replied that this was terrible, the Potsdam native replied: “Yes. But the fashion world is only really beautifulif there is also sin. "

Johanna Christner

Editor in the section “Germany and the World”.

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Words that did not go uncommented: The seventy-six-year-old was heavily criticized on Twitter after the misogynist statements were published.

Joop is probably sad that fashion designers are no longer allowed to be pimps these days, writes Spiegel editor Anton Rainer on Twitter.

"This ignorance of turning sexual abuse into something beautiful, cheeky, is simply sick," complains the Juso district chairman Tim Vollert.

And the Green MEP Katrin Langensiepen also described Joop's choice of words as “the glorification of violence and the humiliation of women”.

Not an isolated case in the industry

In Wolfgang Joop's apology on his social media accounts, however, it says that the designer pointed out "the corruption and frivolity of the 1970s and 1980s in the industry," which unfortunately also included the disrespectful and abusive treatment of models. " His statement was misplaced and he deeply rejects any form of abuse of power and violence then as now. "The respectful treatment of each person is my top priority, both inside and outside the industry," Joop wrote in his apology.

The fact that the designer speaks so bluntly about the sexual abuse of women in the Spiegel interview shows what a shocking image of women still prevails in parts of the fashion industry today. And it wouldn't be the first scandal of its kind: designers, agents and photographers have in the past been charged with sexual violence and abuse of power, including celebrities such as fashion photographer Mario Testino, former head of marketing at Victoria's Secret Ed Razek and former head of Europe Model agency Elite Model Management Gérald Marie.

The latter is accused by several women of having sexually abused or molested them in the 1980s and 1990s.

"Nobody stepped in," said the affected and former BBC journalist Lisa Brinkworth.

“Everyone laughed and clapped.

As if that were something very common. ”In September 2020, the public prosecutor initiated an investigation against the former husband of model icon Linda Evangelista.

Accordingly, 15 complaints were received against Gérald Marie - some of the women were minors at the time of the crime.