A gender-fluid fashion influencer posted a video in a dress, sparking transphobic backlash towards them and the brand — but they don't regret it

• David Ross Lawn is a gender-fluid fashion influencer who posted a video wearing a Son de Flor dress.
• Lawn was bombarded with transphobic hate after a conservative commentator caught wind of their post.

A gender-fluid fashion influencer was bombarded with transphobic hate after a fashion brand reshared a video of them wearing one of their dresses on Instagram.

On July 1, 31-year-old David Ross Lawn, who uses they/he pronouns, posted a video wearing items from Son de Flor, a linen clothing and accessories brand, on Instagram. The video, which was captioned, "ways to style the sondeflor classic dress," featured Lawn twirling in a room and showing off several of the brand's dresses.

Lawn is a "cottagecore influencer'' who typically shares fashion content with their 158,000 followers on Instagram and 575,000 followers on TikTok. Since they posted their first video online in November 2020, their audience has been steadily growing. Lawn told Insider that most of their followers are LGBTQ+, and their post was initially well received.

Soon after Lawn posted the video, however, Son de Flor re-shared it on their own Instagram page and things took a turn. Lawn said they began to receive hateful, transphobic messages on social media and some of Son de Flor's customers said they would no longer support the brand because they showcased a gender-fluid person on their Instagram page.

Lawn said they faced a wave of hate after the criticism went viral

Lawn said some negativity was directed to their original post, which isn't unusual, but the problems grew exponentially when the Son de Flor post hit Twitter.

In a tweet published on July 3, conservative columnist and political commentator Bethany S. Mandel complained to her 120,000 followers about the post being featured by the brand, which she described as "a modest old-fashioned linen company."

The tweet was viewed over 13.6 million times and received over 4,000 responses in replies and quote-tweets

Mandel parlayed her viral tweet into a column with the British current affairs magazine The Spectator, titled "Is my favorite dress company the new Bud Light?" an apparent reference to the wave of backlash and boycott threats the beer brand faced after partnering with popular transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.

In her article about Lawn's Instagram post, Mandel wrote, "Son de Flor makes 'traditional' clothing — yet decided to use a 'gender-fluid' bearded model," arguing that the brand had abandoned its core market.

While Lawn said the article didn't bother them too much, the backlash following Mandel's Twitter thread felt overwhelming.

Some of Mandel's followers started going to Son de Flor's Instagram account and writing negative comments about Lawn and the brand.

"It got messy with people sending me all kinds of horrible messages and comments," they said. "I was being called all sorts of things ranging from a 'pedophile' to a 'groomer,' which is baffling because I'm literally just showing how I style Son de Flor dresses."

Mandel and The Spectator did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Son de Flor knew they risked backlash as a result of their post but are standing by Lawn

Son de Flor co-founder Vaida Ribinskaite told Insider that the brand believed they risked losing part of their sales in the short term due to their support of Lawn, but said they had not experienced a drop in revenue, despite the backlash.

In the immediate aftermath of the sharing Lawn's video, the brand noticed that its Instagram follower count had dropped from 320,000 to 317,000 followers. But within a few days, it had increased to 328,000, it said.

Soon after the incident on July 5, the brand posted an Instagram video reiterating its support for Lawn. "We are always open and very, very friendly to anyone who wants to work and be friends with Son de Flor," Ribinskaite said in the video, which was generally well received by commenters.

Lawn wants to keep using their platform as a way to be creative and inspire others

Lawn told Insider that the criticism has not changed their outlook on social media and that they plan to keep using their platform for "creativity, positivity, and self-expression." They also felt encouraged by Son de Flor's support for their videos.

"It means a lot to me that they publicly said that they celebrate it and that they want to continue to showcase all beautiful souls in their clothing," Lawn said.

Lawn does not plan to make any adjustments to the content they create, despite any backlash from people who disagree.

"Showcasing personal style is not a crime, nor is working with brands to show that their clothing is for all people," they said. "I love creating content. No amount of hate will stop that. Love always wins, after all."

For more stories like this, check out coverage from Insider's Digital Culture team here.