A women’s clothing company risks losing a large portion of their clients after releasing a series of promotional videos featuring a “gender fluid” male as the model for one of their “linen dresses for women.”
On July 1, Son De Flor, a Lithuania-based clothing company specializing in modest women’s clothing made of linen, posted a reel to their Instagram advertising a classic dress. The garment, which retails at a regular price of $253 USD, was modeled in various colors by “gender fluid” influencer David Ross Lawn.
Lawn, who describes himself as a “gender fluid composer, performer, opera singer, pianist, and oboist, photographer, self-portrait artist and TikTok creator,” is originally from Scotland. On Instagram and TikTok, where he uses he/they pronouns, he is known for wearing women’s classic clothing in his daily life.
Lawn also works in affiliation with Little Women Atelier, a dress company that specializes in dresses to be “passed from mother to daughter.”
Now a music theory teacher in New Jersey, the 30-year-old has also been featured by Vogue and Them for his “eccentric style” and “sickening looks.” But Son De Flor’s clientele, of which a significant demographic are religious and conservative women interested in modest women’s wear, are anything but happy.
According to Social Blade, a website that tracks social media statistics, the all-women owned and operated clothing brand has lost over 3,000 followers on Instagram over the past week as their female clientele rebel against the collaboration.
Some women have taken to the comment section of Son De Flor’s Instagram posts to express their frustration over the collaboration with Lawn.
“You going to address why you decided to have a Dylan episode,” user ldstemplar asked in response to the post in an apparent reference to this year’s scandal involving Dylan Mulvaney and Bud Light. “Did you not see what happened to companies bigger than you,” ldstemplar continued.
“Another company continuing to ostracize the majority in order to to cater to the minority. This is so disappointing,” another user wrote.
Some users have sparked a debate on whether clothes alone “make men women.”
Other women vowed never to purchase a dress from Son De Flor again, despite being self-identified long-time customers.
“This is all fun and games till women are erased. Till we are nothing but birthing little men with a special hole. I do not see any menswear companies, which strictly cater to men, dressing women to advertise their clothing,” one user proclaimed beneath the post.
In addition to several customers pointing fingers at Son De Flor, Lawn’s comment section on his collaboration post with the company has been flooded with comments from concerned and upset users. Some have accused Lawn of taking opportunities away from women for his decision to professionally model for exclusively female-centered companies.
As backlash continued to swell, Lawn began to respond personally to some of his critics, slamming them for “gendering” clothing.
“I hate to break it to you, but dresses have never been ‘just for women’ — not sure where you got that idea from but there’s always an entire history of men wearing dresses to research if you care to look into it,” he said in response to one woman.
After another user asked why men are “always modeling women’s clothing,” Lawn replied: “Why are people so disgusted by fabric (which has no gender) being worn by people (that can identify however they wish) this brand is clearly for everyone.”
Son De Flor has yet to directly address the backlash from partnering with the male influencer, but they have been active in posting typical content since the incident took place a few days ago.
