Aussie fashion label criticized for being ‘snooty’ and ’embarrassed’ mid-sized customers who walk into their store: ‘I’ve never been so humiliated in my life’
- Kookai criticized for being ‘conceited’ and ‘fat-shaming’
- Shoppers shared their experience of humiliation
Australian fashion retailer Kookai has been criticized online by angry shoppers who claim the store is “fat-shaming”.
The brand is known for only stocking smaller sizes, with their social media and ad campaigns notably missing plus size models.
A growing number of women are coming forward to share their horror stories simply by venturing through the store’s shiny glass windows to browse, saying they are exposed to “side-eye” stares and discrimination.
Fashion retailer Kookai (pictured) has been accused of ‘fat-shaming’ customers in its stores, allegedly telling some customers to go elsewhere if they’re looking for larger sizes
“Why are Kookai workers so conceited? I’m a size medium and the looks I get as soon as I walk in make me feel uncomfortable,” a Melbourne woman wrote in a Facebook group.
“Has anyone else dealt with this before?” she added.
The post sparked a series of similar stories from other women who say they’ve had similar experiences.
“This has been happening for years. They’re known for it, and they tend to shame their customers,” said one woman.
Another shared that she was “never so humiliated in my life” when she entered one of the retailer’s stores.
“As someone who struggles with body image, I can tell you I will never go back there,” she added.
Others noted the store’s confusing sizing system stock sizes 6 through 14, which translates to sizes 0-2 for their own ‘basics’ range.
In one of several TikTok videos targeting the store, Adelle Petropoulos said she visited a store a few months ago and was shocked by the way she was treated.
The makeup artist said she’s usually a size 8 in tops and 12 in pants, but when she asked a staff member for the larger size in a dress she was looking at “she looked me up and down and literally said, ‘Pop, we don’t I don’t have larger sizes in stock.”‘
“In hindsight, I should have roasted her then and there, but I wasn’t about to tear up the store clerk for her bad attitude, so I asked for her manager,” she said.
The manager then recommended some stores that “stock bigger sizes for bigger girls.”
One person commented on Ms. Petropoulos’ video that it was an “absolute joke that they class 12 as a plus size.”
Kookai was founded in France, but expanded to Australia in the early 1990s with a store on Melbourne’s Collins Street before being rolled out across the country.
The brand is known for only stocking smaller sizes, with their social media and ad campaigns notably missing plus size models. (Pictured: Australian model Shanina Shaik on the Kookai catwalk in August 2015)
The brand was sold to Australia’s Magi in 2017, but the stores still operate in both countries, each with their own design teams curating the collections.
The French stores are known for knitwear, while the Oceania stores focus on a more glamorous style that taps into the politically incorrect niche.
Charlene Stojanovski, 32, said she recently visited one of the brand’s stores in Sydney but would never go back.
“I was going through their clothes and there was nothing on the rack past size 8,” Ms. Stojanovski said.
“I sheepishly asked if they had larger sizes and one of the staff said, ‘Oh dear, I’m sorry, we only cater for the small ones.’
“She answered my question like it was the dumbest thing I could ask them, almost condescending.”
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Kookai for comment.