Angela Rayner UK Deputy Prime Minister Wears Dress Worth Tens of Thousands of Won
First Lady Also Wears Same Brand... "Close to Labour Party"
"Claims to Represent Working Class" vs "Problem Because She Is a Woman"
Victoria Starmer, wife of the new UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Angela Rayner, the UK Deputy Prime Minister, were reported to have worn clothes from the same brand, sparking controversies over the price of their outfits and allegations of gender discrimination. On the 8th (local time), the British daily The Telegraph reported, "The First Lady and the new Deputy Prime Minister consecutively chose clothes from the same brand at official events, drawing attention."
The controversial outfits are products of the British women's clothing brand ‘ME+EM’. Deputy Prime Minister Rayner wore a mint-colored suit from this brand during Starmer’s inauguration speech, which is known to cost ?550 (approximately 970,000 KRW). The orange dress she wore the following day is priced at ?227 (about 400,000 KRW).
Conservative commentators pointed out that a politician who had attracted attention with a ‘rags-to-riches’ story in the new cabinet was wearing expensive suits. Rayner had garnered attention for rising to the second-highest position in the cabinet despite a difficult upbringing, including leaving school at 16 due to childbirth. In response, a commentator from GB News posted a criticism saying, "Rayner, who claimed to represent the working class, dared to wear pretty clothes not made in a Bangladeshi factory." Former model Leilani Dowding wrote on X (formerly Twitter), "This is a waste of ?550."
Keir Starmer, the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and his wife Victoria Starmer. [Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]
Victoria, who became the First Lady, was also reported to have worn a red dress from the same brand on the 4th, the day of the general election. The traffic to the sales page of this dress increased more than threefold after that day, demonstrating a significant advertising effect.
The brand was founded in 2009 by designer Claire Hornby, whose husband, Johnny Hornby, is the Managing Director of the global advertising company TBWA. This company was responsible for former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s 2001 re-election campaign, which brought victory to the Labour Party. The Telegraph described it as "a brand closely connected to the Labour Party."
However, there have also been criticisms that such reactions are sexist. The tabloid The Sun stated, "In the political world, there is more fuss than over the mint green suit worn by Deputy Prime Minister Rayner," and criticized, "Let this woman wear what she wants to wear. And let her do her job."
Guardian columnist Joy Williams also published a column titled “Angela Rayner’s Suit and Victoria Starmer’s Secret Power: Why Does It Suddenly Smell Like Sexism?” He said, “It is strange that someone elected to public office is a woman and that what she wears becomes a big issue,” and “With 11 women appointed to senior positions in this cabinet, the day will come when the world gets used to their presence, that they have their own agendas, and that clothes are just something they wear every day.”
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