Gosha Rubchinskiy Responds to Allegations of Inappropriate Messages With Minor

Gosha Rubchinskiy has responded to the allegations that he sent inappropriate texts, which surfaced online, to a 16-year-old boy.

December 9, 2018

Gosha Rubchinskiy at a Burberry exhibition. — Image via David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images
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Gosha Rubchinskiy, the 34-year-old Russian fashion designer, was accused of exchanging provocative texts with a 16-year-old after conversations between the two surfaced online. The screenshots show Gosha asking the boy to send images of himself, urging him to take the photos in the bathroom to prevent his parents from finding out. The conversations allegedly took place on several platforms, initiating on Instagram direct message and moving to WhatsApp and FaceTime. In response to the allegations, Gosha's team sent Hypebeast the following statement:

Jan Silfverling, who reportedly put forth the allegations, initially reached out to High Fashion Talk Group, a Facebook group dedicated to bringing together fashion-enthusiasts. The administrators of the page posted screenshots of the alleged exchange between Gosha and Silfverling. As outlined in the fashion designer's statement, Gosha has alleged that he intended on casting Silfverling for an upcoming lookbook campaign, and maintains that the exchange was not sexual.

Diet Prada, the fashion news outlet responsible for broadcasting Stefano Gabanna's lewd comments towards China, noted that although the age of consent in Russia is 16, possession of nude or provocative photos of anyone under-18 is considered child pornography worldwide.

Rubchinskiy initially gained notoriety in the fashion world after launching his eponymous brand in 2008. Since then, with the help of Comme des Garçons president Adrian Joffe, he has become one of street style's household names.

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