Glamorous, poised, lavish… These are some of the words that come to mind when I think of high fashion. But the industry isn’t without its scandals.

Here are a few (of the many) large and entertaining fashion related controversies:

During JFK’s presidency, Jackie Kennedy became known as a fashion icon. In fact, in her first year as First Lady, she spent $45,446 more on fashion than the $100,000 annual salary her husband earned as president. Despite all of this, she later sold her designer goods for money at a New York consignment store in 1975. Her numerous loyal followers were shocked.

In the late 70s, Yves Saint Laurent was in poor health. With rumors flying, a 1977 report mistakenly declared his death. Soon after, he was taken to Paris’s American Hospital for treatment of alcohol and cocaine addiction. Ironically, his perfume released that same year was called Opium. The advertising slogan was “Opium, for those who are addicted to Yves Saint Laurent.”

Another controversy struck in 1980, with then-15-year-old Brooke Shields was modeling for Calvin Klein. In the commercial, she provocatively says, “Do you know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing.” This line became infamous. There were many critics of this campaign, including Gloria Steinem, American feminist, journalist and political activist. Steinem believed that the campaign was likely to provoke violence against women.

Filipino president Ferdinand Marcos and his spouse, Imelda, were exiled from their country in 1986 when his government collapsed. Behind them, Imelda was forced to leave behind 15 mink coats, 508 gowns, 888 handbags and 1,100 pairs of shoes. Something tells me these shoes weren’t from Payless either.

Grace Mirabella began working at Vogue magazine in the 1950s and was appointed Editor-in-Chief in 1971. Unfortunately for her, she found out that she was out of a job via “Live at Five,” when gossip columnist Liz Smith announced that current editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour, was replacing Mirabella. Mirabella had served as editor-in-chief for 17 years.

For American designer Randolph Duke, the 2000 Oscars was a success. Hilary Swank had just won an Oscar in one of his gowns. But the next day, Duke became aware of a sexual harassment suit being filed against him. Maureen Walsh, Duke’s former personal assistant, claimed that she was “being forced to hold Duke’s hand during a botched penile enhancement surgery.” This doesn’t sound like very good publicity to me, especially with the Randolph Duke Resort Collection making its debut in that same year.

Calvin Klein, 71, is an American fashion designer and founder of Calvin Klein, Inc. In 2003, Klein was at a Knicks basketball game and stumbled onto the court, grabbing a player’s arm and attempting to have a conversation before being escorted back to his seat. A “Calvin Klein bill” was later passed, increasing fines for unruly fans.

In 2005, “Sunday Mirror” (Sunday sister paper of London’s “Daily Mirror”), accused Kate Moss of taking “vast quantities” of cocaine at a 2001 charity fashion show. According to the press, she collapsed into a coma shortly after. The paper later apologized to Moss. However, just a few months later, the “Daily Mirror” published pictures of Moss appearing to do lines of cocaine at a London music studio. As a result of the controversy, Moss lost modeling jobs with former clients like H&M, Chanel and Burberry.

Canadian Don Charney, 45, is the founder and CEO of the American Apparel clothing company. In 2004, Charney allegedly masturbated in front of a magazine reporter. A couple of years ago, he was accused of a multitude of unwanted sexual contact incidents. The accusers were female staff members and advertisement models. Irene Morales made the most well-known accusation. Supposedly, she was held as a sex slave inside Charney’s apartment. We later found out that most of the sexual contact allegations against Charney were false. 

In the beginning of Sarah Palin’s vice-presidential campaign, she was taken aback by lavish spending on clothing. But in 2008, the Republican National Committee purchased more than $150,000 worth of clothing and accessories for Palin. All of this was purchased on the campaign fund, in preparation for the Republican National Convention.