Gosha Rubchinskiy has been accused of sending inappropriate messages to a minor
Image via Getty
Diet Prada dishes the dirt… again.
As we all saw with the recent Dolce & Gabbana controversy, Diet Prada isn’t limiting itself to just calling out industry copycats.
The page’s latest exposé concerns Russian designer Gosha Rubchinskiy, who’s been accused of exchanging inappropriate messages with an underage fan.
It’s hard to keep track of who’s saying what, so here’s a rundown of everything that’s come to light so far.
The accusations
Instagram page High Fashion Talk Group posted screenshots yesterday, allegedly showing messages between Rubchinskiy and 16-year-old Jan Silfverling. The photos were shared by Silfverling on the group’s private Facebook page.
These include both Instagram DMs and WhatsApp messages, where Rubchinskiy appears to request photos from Silfverling. In these images, he suggests taking the photos in the bathroom to avoid Silfverling’s parents seeing, pushing further when the teen initially says he can’t.
Silfverling told High Fashion Talk that more explicit messages had been sent and then unsent by the designer, and therefore weren’t captured in the screenshots.
The original post also included a short Facetime video between the two as evidence of the exchange.
Both Diet Prada and Supreme Leaks News then picked up the story, reposting the messages on their own pages.
It’s worth noting that the messages suggest Rubchinskiy knew Silfverling’s age. Diet Prada also pointed out that, while the age of consent in Russia is 16, the possession of sexual images of anybody under the age of 18 is considered child pornography worldwide.
Since sharing the original post, High Fashion Talk has reportedly been contacted by another person allegedly messaged by Rubchinskiy.
In further screenshots, the designer appears to mention a future modelling test, before requesting “more pictures” from the unnamed individual.
Again, it’s alleged that Rubchinskiy unsent explicit messages, this time asking for photos without underwear.
Gosha Rubchinksiy’s response
In response to these accusations, the designer’s team sent a statement to Hypebeast, claiming the messages had been taken completely out of context.
Rubchinskiy says the exchange was not sexual at all, and was related to street casting for an upcoming lookbook.
The statement alleges that Silfverling asked to be considered for the campaign, which resulted in a FaceTime call. Rubchinskiy then asked for a photo to be kept on file.
His team also claims the screenshots were altered to make the designer look bad, and that Silfverling was simply lashing out after Rubchinskiy blocked him on social media.
As of now, all posts have been deleted from the label’s Instagram.
The latest
Jan Silfverling has since posted a counter-statement to High Fashion Talk’s Facebook group.
He says he hadn’t knowingly been involved in a casting campaign, and had in fact been brushed off when he’d previously mentioned modelling for the label.
Silfverling claims he contacted the designer as a fan of his work, hoping to interview him for a school project.
The post also included what looks like a screen capture video of his messages with Rubchinskiy, which appears to show more retracted messages from the designer since the first screenshots were posted.
More on this as it develops.
Liked this? You’ll love these...
