International fashion has been filled with scandalous viral cases that today no longer generate indignation; serious episodes in which star designers have been the protagonists. Most of them seem to have been forgiven by the public and their actions forgotten. Even when many of them did not even offer an explanation, a sincere apology, or a long period of penance, like the one John Galliano was made to endure after his drunken and racist episode.
From racist comments such as those made by Galliano or Stefano Gabbana, to extremely serious issues such as the allegations against Alexander Wang for se**ual assault or against Demna Gvasalia for using obvious references to child abus* in a campaign for Balenciaga, they seem to have been placed in the drawer of oblivion by media and readers alike, once the initial fervor of the news had passed.
This does not only happen internationally. In Mexico, a country where serious fashion journalism has not yet—if it has even begun to—flourish, neither in traditional nor independent media, this dynamic is very common. And when there are controversial issues that should be addressed, few dare even to mention them in order not to make anyone uncomfortable.
In Mexican fashion, the current case of designer Elizabeth Salim vs. Grecia Soto is resonating. In it, Elizabeth accuses Soto of plagiarizing one of her designs presented at Rakuten Fashion Week in September 2025. The claims she is making are trying to be heard on social media, thanks to the voice with which she cries out increasingly loudly amid disbelief, indifference, and silence.
This allows us to see how, in Mexican fashion, actions like these are overlooked every day, where complainants and spokespersons in these cases, such as Salim or Luz Valdéz, who speak about situations like this on their personal accounts, face dismissals, judgments, and even insults in response to their public claims and accusations.
Amid controversies such as Salim vs. Soto, the lack of sufficient questioning by Mexican fashion media becomes evident once again. In Mexico, cases like these are addressed solely through personal accounts, as formal journalism refrains from addressing, investigating, questioning, or even mentioning them. This voluntary blindness has left cases of real injustice in Mexico’s fashion industry abandoned.
In our country, it is common to see the idea of wanting a first-class fashion industry being repeated, one in which questionable practices cease to be perpetuated. But… are we really doing our part?
It is clear that Fashion Thinking is not a journalistic or controversy-driven media outlet, but rather one focused on analysis and opinion about the Mexican fashion industry. However, I found it interesting to address this phenomenon that can be perceived amid the boom of independent Mexican fashion media, as it is becoming increasingly evident that we are choosing not to see the elephant in the room.
At a time when social media has made it easier to create voices and specialized fashion media outlets, today more than ever we can detect a deafening silence surrounding issues that do deserve to be discussed.
Apparently, in 2026, there are still formalities and subjects that should not be mentioned so as not to make anyone uncomfortable or to avoid falling out of favor, where questionable practices are accepted in order to preserve a safe position.
Faced with this idea, all that remains is the intention to gradually eradicate these practices by questioning and speaking openly about what is happening, if we honestly want to eradicate that dark reputation that has labeled the fashion industry for years, in which it is characterized as superficial, hostile, and insincere. Because perhaps we ourselves are the ones who continue to perpetuate this dynamic.
To conclude, I leave you with a couple of questions:
How many cases and injustices have been buried because they were not backed by an account with thousands of followers? How many times have we been complicit, through our silence, in absurd acts?
Análisis, Cultura y Mindset de la moda. 
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