This week, male model and graphic designer Owen Mooney said she was caught in 2017 by an influential fashion designer named Alexander Wang at a nightclub in New York City.
Mr Mooney has made the allegations in a pair of videos posted on social media. Soon after, further allegations of sexual assault and insensitive encounter were made against the Instagram designer-year-old designer, posted through Instagram accounts that do not identify the accused.
Today, after days of silence, Mr. Wang responded to the claims – and the barrage of criticism he faced online.
“For the past few days, I’ve been making baseless and baseless false allegations,” the designer wrote in a statement sent to The New York Times. “These claims have been falsely fueled by social media accounts that are notorious for posting defamatory content from unknown and / or unknown sources with zero evidence or any fact-checking.”
The allegations were compiled by two accounts on Instagram and posted with large followers who have established themselves as the fashion industry’s watchdogs: Diet Prada, managed by Tony Liu and Lindsay Schuler, and another account, from the modeling industry. Dedicated to revealing inner works. The New York Times did not independently confirm the allegations. Mr. Mooney did not respond to requests for comment by email and direct message.
In 2019, Azilia Banks – a rapper and songwriter who is Mr. Wang’s former music and collaborator – shared the series Anonymous accounts on her Instagram stories Allegations of groping by the designer. In 2017, a man named Nick Ward posted a Twitter thread claiming that Mr. Wang grabbed his genitals at a Brooklyn concert.
In his video, which was initially posted on Ticket OK and then widely shared on other platforms, Mr. Mooney said the stories told by others asked him to make his claims public. Her first ticket ok video, created as part of the current meme, asking users to share fantastic celebrity views, described the event.
Mr. Mooney said, “I was with him at one point and this guy next to me took advantage of the fact that no one could move, and like my foot, pulling my foot completely up, started touching me,” Mr. Mooney said. (With an obscenity). “And then I looked to my left to see who he was and he was a really famous fashion designer and I just couldn’t believe he was doing this to me.”
After many commenters responded to his video by naming Mr. Wang, Mr. Mooney posted another video that confirmed the speculation. “People with this kind of situation, they think their power gives people a pass to do this,” he said in another video referring to Mr. Wang. “It simply came to our notice then. Whenever I see his name mentioned, it just reminds me of what he does. “
In his statement, Mr. Wang said, “It’s shocking to see lies about me being perpetuated as truth.”
He further said, “I have never been involved in the abusive behavior described and I can never behave in the way that has been alleged.” “I want to get to the bottom of this and hold those responsible responsible for generating these claims and spreading them online hatefully.”
On Monday Mr. Wang’s ability to comment on his latest post on his Instagram account has been turned off. The official facial Instagram account for her brand did the same on all of her posts this week.
This week, the fashion advocacy group Model Alliance released a statement in support of Mr Wang’s allegations.
“We are in solidarity with those who have shared allegations of sexual harassment by Alexander Wang at the Model Alliance,” the group said on Instagram. “Let’s be clear: the fashion industry’s lack of transparency and accountability makes all models vulnerable to abuse, regardless of gender or gender identity.”
Known for pushing the boundaries of what could be considered high fashion during his 15-year career, Mr. Wang introduced streetwear and sportwear into the luxury lexicon.
For a time, there was a young man at the helm of the design of the American respected French fashion house Balenciaga. Later, a label named after him pioneered the idea of a runway show, which spread to public glasses in the early days of social media. Mostly, those events were followed by his famous after-partys, where unbalanced punters could spray paint cars, watch hooters eat chicken wings, write strippers, or jump on castle splinters with celebrity guests.
