Dolce & Gabbana Protestors Gather Outside Fashion House’s London Flagship Store

Dolce & Gabbana’s flagship store on Bond Street in London was the setting for a protest against the fashion house on Thursday, led by gay rights and human rights activist Peter Tatchell (pictured).

Dolce & Gabbana Protest

The protest, organized by the Peter Tatchell Foundation and The Out and Proud Diamond Group, was staged in response to comments designers  Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana made against gay adoptions and in-vitro fertilization in a recent interview with Italy’s Panorama magazine.

“We oppose gay adoptions. The only family is the traditional one,” Dolce and Gabbana, who are both openly gay, told the publication. “No chemical offspring and rented uterus: life has a natural flow, there are things that should not be changed.”

“I call children of chemistry, synthetic children. Uteri [for] rent, semen chosen from a catalog,” Dolce added

Revered singer and songwriter Elton John brought the comments in the interview to the mainstream and started a #BoycottDolceGabbana petition.

“How dare you refer to my beautiful children as ‘synthetic,’” Sir Elton wrote on Instagram. “And shame on you for wagging your judgmental little fingers at IVF – a miracle that has allowed legions of loving people, both straight and gay, to fulfill their dream of having children.”

“Your archaic thinking is out of step with the times, just like your fashions,” the singer-songwriter added. “I shall never wear Dolce and Gabbana ever again. #BoycottDolceGabbana.”

Tatchell also took up the cause, releasing a statement condemning Dolce and Gabbana, particularly Gabbana, who allegedly desired to conceive a child through IVF and surrogacy several years back.

“It is hypocritical for Stefano Gabbana to oppose gay parents, given that in 2006 he expressed a desire to have a child via artificial insemination and surrogacy,” Tatchell revealed. “He’s guilty of double standards. Gabbana wanted for himself what he now condemns other gay men for wanting.”

“These comments are not only an attack on same-sex parents but on all parents who’ve had children with the aid of fertility treatment, including thousands of heterosexual couples,” Tatchell added. “They are playing into the hands of the Vatican and far-right political parties that oppose gay families.”

Earlier this week, Dolce and Gabbana released a statement in an attempt to quell the backlash: “It was never our intention to judge other people’s choices. We do believe in freedom and love.”