A SHOCKING BAG OF TRICKS
Controversial costume keeps pushing envelop pe for H’ween, despite outra age
EARLIER members Standard tume company this hotel of the month, in Yandy the media Meatpack- gathered the at cos- The ings ing On District for display Halloween. to unveil was a its purple-haired newest offeroff mermaid, ily controversial of clad “Game pope a sexy of Met modeled Thrones” Northern Gala look. off and Queen Rihanna’s a scant- rip
this ton, But DC, year much swamp, comes of and Yandy’s from that the includes inspiration Washing- its Cloudy dress embedded Affair costume: with a giant a red set mini- of plastic porn star breasts, and alleged its interpretation former Trump of paramour It’s been popular, Stormy Daniels. but customers have said “People it’s missing were a annoyed certain accessory. that it didn’t Quintana-Williams, come with its own toadstool,” 37, Yandy’s Pilar vice president of merchandising, told The Post, referring to Daniels’ derogatory description of Trump’s private parts.
“If I had more time, maybe I would have [added] a toadstool clutch.”
The online costume company routinely sparks outrage and is never afraid to push the envelope. But that push landed it in hot water in September, when it unveiled its Brave Red Maiden outfit — a sexy version of in “The what Handmaid’s women were Tale.” made to wear
The robe-and-bonnet costume is straight out of the Hulu series, which is based on Margaret Atwood’s feminist novel, in which women become state-sanctioned Yandy The pulled backlash the was costume. baby so vessels. strong that
“Over the last few hours, it has becom ed. obvious that our Y andy Brave Red Maiden Costume is being seen as a symbol of women’s oppression, rather than an expression of women’s empowerment,” the company said in a
“This is unfortunate, as it was not statement. our intention on any level.”
“I wouldn’t say many of our ideas are offensive,” said Quintana-Wil- liams, a fashion veteran who joined the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company in 2013.
“We saw [‘The Handmaid’s Tale’] in pop culture and we’re seeing [the outfits at protests and political rallies], so we made our own version,” she added. “We never really thought it was going to cause as much controversy as it did.
“I think we made a bold move with taking it down. We don’t take ourselves seriously. It’s Halloween. It’s meant to be fun.” S TARTED in 2007 as an online lingerie retailer, Yandy has evolved into a purveyor of sexy and sometimes controversial Halloween ensembles, translating memes, redcarpet moments and pop-culture figures into provocative costumes. “Every year, we’re trying to one-up ourselves,” Quintana-Williams said. But, as with the Brave Red Maiden, that quest to go over the top sometimes backfires. In 2015, Yandy created a sexy version of Cecil, the African lion slaughtered by an American dentist, and donated 20 percent of sales to the World Wildlife Fund. Although it was the second-best seller that year, people were not amused, and “Pretty Little Liars” actress Ashley Benson came under fire on social media for wearing it. It left many scratching their heads and wondering just how these provocative, potentially un-PC getups get the green light. “We understand that we have to roll with the punches, but everything is always in good fun here,” Quintana-Williams said. She revealed that there’s an ongoing ideas board posted at the Yandy offices, as well as an online Google document on which anyone at the company can post suggestions. “We’re watching everything and just trying to keep up with the kids these days,” the VP added. So far, she said, ideas haven’t generally been rejected over fears of being offensive. “People come up with all kinds of crazy ideas and some of them are great, but [there’s alwayss the ques-question of ]: How do we makemake them into a costume? Is it somethingomething that someone can just go into their closet and make?” For instance, she said,, Yandy never would have made an An-Anthony Bourdain costumee this year because anyone couldd cre-create an homage to the deceasedeased chef using items from their closets. (The company does cos-ostumes inspired by other lateate celebrities, includingg Prince ena.) age-old dards: cess, But Yandy’s they’re a and an nun Halloween best Arabian the all and sellers singer skin-reveal-al- a stan- prin- ninja.a. Sel-- are ing, one cultural and taking it’s appropriation. offense easy to see at themhem some-ome- for Donohue Catholic blasted League this Presidentesident year’s papal Bill getup, telling The Post it’s a “cheap rip-off of the more contextualizedntextualized Rihanna garb worn at thehe Met Ball. The flagrant display of threehree crosses on the Halloween costumeme takes the outfit to a new level — one that is morally debased.” Quintana-Williams admitsmits she can’ t always predict if a proposedsed costume will be hot or not. In 2013, the companyy created a sexy pizza-slice outfit that she thought would bomb. She bet a colleague that if it sold more than 100 costumes, she’d wearar it out to a pizzeria. It sold morere than 500. “I found myself sittingg in a Mellow Mushroom in a pizza outfit eating pizza duringg the lunch rush ,” she recalled. Yandy does have its lim-mits. Asked if she’d considerer selling costumes depict-ing Brett Kavanaugh or Dr. Christine Blasey Ford,d, Quintana-Williams said,d, “No and no. We’re defi-initely not going nearar that.”