Blog Post Leads MAC to Cancel Rodarte’s Anticipated Mexican Inspired Line

If you think fashion bloggers have little to no power or clout in the industry, get this: one fashion blogger created enough buzz to cause the cancellation of M.A.C.’s expected Rodarte makeup line, which was to be launched September 15.

Back in July when the names for the products in the Rodarte line were released, Jessica Wakeman posted an angry rant on the Frisky saying the designations were inappropriate, which sparked discussion around the Internet. M.A.C. and Rodarte responded with an apology and promise to donate proceeds from the line to victims of violence and poverty in Juarez, Mexico. They also elected to change the names for their makeup products, but now M.A.C. has announced via Facebook page statement that the collection will not ship at all. {The Cut}

Why all the backtracking from such a highly anticipated collaboration?

The collection was inspired by Mexican culture after a trip through Texas taken by Rodarte’s two designers. The products were thus named with that inspiration in mind. “Quinceañera” was chosen for the name of a pink blush, while “Ghost Town” was selected as the name for a sheer white lipstick. However, it was the nail polish called “Juarez” that ticked off the Frisky, which blasted the brands for being tasteless. {The Cut} The blog post said:

“Why’s it tasteless? Juarez is an impoverished Mexican factory town notorious for the number of women between the ages of 12 and 22 who have been raped and murdered with little or no response from police. Most of the young women are employees at the border town’s factories, called maquiladoras, and disappeared on the way to or from work. Activists have been applying constant pressure on Mexican police, who have shown little response to properly investigating the murders, allegedly because the victims are poor women. The crime channel TruTV even called Juarez a “serial killers’ playground”! And it’s not like the Juarez murders are some big secret: Jennifer Lopez even starred in a film,“Bordertown,” playing a reporter who writes about the rapes and murders.”  {the Frisky}

The blog post prompted widespread Internet debate over the cosmetic names, in addition to many angry comments from the Frisky’s readers. Some were shocked, some were equally outraged by Rodarte’s nail polish name, some mocked the author for reading too much into a nail polish name and others alleged the blogger’s research was incorrect. Whether you agree with the post or not, the fact that a blogger caused a cosmetics brand such as M.A.C. to put the brakes on an entire, much talked about collection goes to show just how influential the blogosphere can be.

The statement M.A.C. released Tuesday said the line was canceled “out of respect for the people of Mexico,” and they will still donate the projected profits from the line to legitimate organizations that work to support the women of Juarez. {Elle UK}

What do you think? Is M.A.C. doing the right thing by withholding the collection, or is this a case of overly PC Internet writers finding offense where none actually exists?






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