Update: A BCBGMAXAZRIA rep reached out to us with a statement to clarify things a bit: "The Herve Leger by Max Azria brand and its parent company, BCBGMAXAZRIA Group, are shocked and appalled by Patrick Couderc’s comments made in the Mail on Sunday. BCBGMAXAZRIA Group is working in concert with MJH Fashion, the London-based licensee of the Herve Leger brand, to investigate and establish appropriate next steps. The statements made by Mr. Couderc are not a reflection of Herve Leger by Max Azria or MJH Fashion ideals or sentiments...[Couderc] is no longer associated with the company."
Hervé Léger bandage dresses: Some see the Spanx-necessitating minidresses as red carpet hits, while for others, they’re sartorial horrors that resemble sausage casing. Even if you loathe the ultra-tight style, everyone should be able to wear it, right? Wrong, according to Patrick Couderc, an exec at MJH Fashion, which licenses Léger in the U.K. He had an extremely frank interview with The Daily Mail about the super-clingy dresses, calling them unsuitable for “voluptuous” women and anyone with “very prominent hips and very flat chest”.
Couderc also marginalized bandage dress fans who aren't straight: “If you’re a committed lesbian and you are wearing trousers all your life, you won’t want to buy a Léger dress. Lesbians would want to be rather butch and leisurely.” Couderc added ageism to his count of offensive musings as well, lamenting older bandage dress wearers for ”displaying everything like you’re 23."
Comedian Margaret Cho took to Twitter to vent about Couderc’s comments, calling for a boycott of the brand. “Fuck fashion and 'designers' that body shame @HerveLeger #wecanwearwhateverthefuckwewant #boycottherveleger," she wrote.
The body-con style debuted in the '80s. In 1998, BCBGMAXAZRIA Group acquired Hervé Léger and resurrected the signature bandage dress nearly a decade later, with a capsule collection in 2007. The extra-snug, very stretchy style's success is probably due, in part, to its ability to work on a variety of body types, including curvier physiques.
The Daily Mail might not always be the most reliable source, as Couderc doesn't work directly for Léger (as originally stated in the article) and he’s not an authorized spokesperson for the brand, as BCBGMAXAZRIA clarified to Jezebel — but that doesn’t make his comments any more palatable.
The Daily Mail might not always be the most reliable source, as Couderc doesn't work directly for Léger (as originally stated in the article) and he’s not an authorized spokesperson for the brand, as BCBGMAXAZRIA clarified to Jezebel — but that doesn’t make his comments any more palatable.