“Since when did domestic abuse become fashionable?”: Irina Shayk’s fake black eye sparks outrage

Irina Shayk’s latest risqué fashion look is stirring up controversy, but not for the reason you might expect.

On September 18th, Shayk shared an Instagram roundup from a recent London Fashion Week runway show in which she modelled a silver dress with electric blue thigh-high boots. However, despite describing the Mowalola fashion show as “amaz” in her Instagram caption, many of her Instagram followers had a much different opinion.

Many of Shayk’s followers were disturbed by the 37-year-old model’s makeup look, which is intended to mimic a black eye and a bruised lip. While designer Mowalola Ogunlesi told Vogue that her latest collection was heavily inspired by David Cronenberg’s film Crash, a 1996 thriller about an auto collision, many viewers felt the show glamorised violence against women.

“If this fashion designer wanted makeup to mimic a bruise on her eyes this clearly shows how fucked up the world is,” one user commented. “Promoting physical abuse is not fashionable at all.” Another wrote, “Since when did domestic abuse become fashionable?!?”

Backstage of the show, which was held on September 15, Ogunlesi told Vogue that she was “excited by the fetishization of pain through crashing” after viewing the Cronenberg film for the first time, later posting photos from the show to X.com with the caption “We run from pain but we need pain to survive #CrashSS23.”

Still, viewers were provided none of this context through Irina Shayk’s post or photos circulating online, and this wouldn’t be the first time a fashion show was labeled insensitive for their styling choices. Who could forget Kylie Jenner’s tone deaf noose choker?

“Giving supermodels a fake black eye is absolutely reprehensible,” activist Aisha Ali-Khan tweeted. “What an insult to victims of #domesticviolence seeing injuries like this glamorized for public consumption. @MOWALOLA_should have known better, & #IrenaShayk should have just said NO!”