New York Fashion Week kicked off on Monday, marking the beginning of a month-long event where designers showcase their latest creations in four different cities. Where London is known for its celebration of emerging designers and Paris for its grandeur, New York is revered for its progressive values: its catwalks are often home to bold political statements, promoting diversity and body positivity along the way. Given this reputation, the news that Pornhub stars will walk the runway this Sunday in what has been deemed a “feminist statement” is puzzling.

Modelling for Berlin-based fashion label Namila, several adult film actors will showcase a collection named “Herotica”, alongside Pornhub’s ambassador Asa Akira. Nan Li, one of the designers behind the collection, aims to challenge the porn industry’s exclusive focus on men’s entertainment: “Porn isn’t something existentially male. Most women just have been excluded from determining the narrative.”

Although the idea of resisting pornographic tropes is compelling, the label’s hope to reclaim women’s agency fell flat when it chose to collaborate with a website that distributes footage made as a result of female exploitation. In yet another case of femvertising that claims to champion women while profiting from their mistreatment, the fashion venture is an insult to women who are trafficked, sexually abused and filmed in secret for Pornhub videos. Although the site encourages its users to report illegal content, as a hosting platform it takes no legal responsibility for the videos that are uploaded, making it a hotbed for illegal photos and videos.

It’d be an understatement to call New York Fashion Week’s decision tone deaf, especially given that just last week, Victoria’s Secret came under fire for sexual harassment claims. Sunday’s show is such a regression from the likes of fashion designer Prabal Gurung’s political catwalk last year, in which models walked hand in hand holding white flowers to show unity for the #MeToo movement, with its founder, Tarana Burke, sitting in his front row.

The fashion industry needs to examine its own feminist values before trying to reshape the narrative of porn, while considering its responsibility in working with a website that hosts such troubling content.

Best-dressed celebrities at Milan Fashion Week SS20 Show all 28 1 /28 Best-dressed celebrities at Milan Fashion Week SS20 Best-dressed celebrities at Milan Fashion Week SS20 iggy-pop.jpg MILAN, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 22: Iggy Pop attends the Gucci show during Milan Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2020 on September 22, 2019 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Victor Boyko/Getty Images for Gucci) Getty Images for Gucci Best-dressed celebrities at Milan Fashion Week SS20 hari-nef.jpg MILAN, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 22: Hari Nef attends the Gucci show during Milan Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2020 on September 22, 2019 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Victor Boyko/Getty Images for Gucci) Getty Images for Gucci Best-dressed celebrities at Milan Fashion Week SS20 asap-rocky.jpg MILAN, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 22: ASAP Rocky attends the Gucci show during Milan Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2020 on September 22, 2019 in Milan, Italy. 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(Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images for HugoBoss) Getty Images Best-dressed celebrities at Milan Fashion Week SS20 gettyimages-1175561217.jpg MILAN, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 18: Alexa Chung attends Prada Spring/Summer 2020 Womenswear Fashion Show on September 18, 2019 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Pietro D'Aprano/Getty Images for Prada) Getty Images for Prada Best-dressed celebrities at Milan Fashion Week SS20 gettyimages-1175561218.jpg MILAN, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 18: ASAP Rocky attend Prada Spring/Summer 2020 Womenswear Fashion Show on September 18, 2019 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Pietro D'Aprano/Getty Images for Prada) Getty Images for Prada Best-dressed celebrities at Milan Fashion Week SS20 1175684463.jpg MILAN, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 19: Olivia Palermo, wearing Max Mara, attends the Max Mara show during Milan Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2020 on September 19, 2019 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images for Max Mara) Andreas Rentz Getty Images for Max Mara Best-dressed celebrities at Milan Fashion Week SS20 1175682960.jpg MILAN, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 19: Halima Aden, wearing Max Mara, attends the Max Mara show during Milan Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2020 on September 19, 2019 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images for Max Mara) Andreas Rentz Getty Images for Max Mara Best-dressed celebrities at Milan Fashion Week SS20 1175724228.jpg MILAN, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 19: Hikari Mori, wearing Max Mara, attends the Max Mara show during Milan Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2020 on September 19, 2019 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images for Max Mara) Andreas Rentz Getty Images for Max Mara Best-dressed celebrities at Milan Fashion Week SS20 07853257.jpg epa07853257 Italian singer Levante poses before the Emporio Armani show during the Milan Fashion Week, in Milan, Italy, 19 September 2019. The Spring-Summer 2020 Women's collections are presented at the Milano Moda Donna from 17 to 23 September 2019. EPA/MATTEO BAZZI MATTEO BAZZI EPA Best-dressed celebrities at Milan Fashion Week SS20 1175690835.jpg MILAN, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 19: Celina Locks attends the Emporio Armani fashion show during the Milan Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2020 on September 19, 2019 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images) Vittorio Zunino Celotto Getty Images Best-dressed celebrities at Milan Fashion Week SS20 1175686146.jpg MILAN, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 19: Valentina BellÃ¨ attends the Emporio Armani fashion show during the Milan Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2020 on September 19, 2019 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images) Vittorio Zunino Celotto Getty Images Best-dressed celebrities at Milan Fashion Week SS20 1175686133.jpg MILAN, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 19: Princess Mafalda of Bulgaria attends the Emporio Armani fashion show during the Milan Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2020 on September 19, 2019 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images) Vittorio Zunino Celotto Getty Images Best-dressed celebrities at Milan Fashion Week SS20 1175686017.jpg MILAN, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 19: Alice Pagani attends the Emporio Armani fashion show during the Milan Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2020 on September 19, 2019 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images) Vittorio Zunino Celotto Getty Images Best-dressed celebrities at Milan Fashion Week SS20 1175684364.jpg MILAN, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 19: Tina Leung, wearing Max Mara, attends the Max Mara show during Milan Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2020 on September 19, 2019 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images for Max Mara) Andreas Rentz Getty Images for Max Mara Best-dressed celebrities at Milan Fashion Week SS20 1175684340.jpg MILAN, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 19: Gala Gonzalez, wearing Max Mara, attends the Max Mara show during Milan Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2020 on September 19, 2019 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images for Max Mara) Andreas Rentz Getty Images for Max Mara Best-dressed celebrities at Milan Fashion Week SS20 1175683661.jpg MILAN, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 19: Caro Daur, wearing Max Mara, attends the Max Mara show during Milan Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2020 on September 19, 2019 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images for Max Mara) Andreas Rentz Getty Images for Max Mara Best-dressed celebrities at Milan Fashion Week SS20 2019-09-18T153706Z-507353890-RC185F0E5A50-RTRMADP-3-FASHION-MILAN.JPG Actor Nicole Kidman looks on as she attends the Prada catwalk show during the fashion week in Milan, Italy, September 18, 2019. REUTERS/Alessandro Garofaloâ€¨ ALESSANDRO GAROFALO REUTERS Best-dressed celebrities at Milan Fashion Week SS20 gettyimages-1175562341.jpg MILAN, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 18: Winnie Harlow attends Prada Spring/Summer 2020 Womenswear Fashion Show on September 18, 2019 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images for Prada) Getty Images for Prada Best-dressed celebrities at Milan Fashion Week SS20 gettyimages-1175562229.jpg MILAN, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 18: Jeanne Damas attends Prada Spring/Summer 2020 Womenswear Fashion Show on September 18, 2019 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images for Prada) Getty Images for Prada Best-dressed celebrities at Milan Fashion Week SS20 gettyimages-1175561676.jpg MILAN, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 18: Susie Lau attends Prada Spring/Summer 2020 Womenswear Fashion Show on September 18, 2019 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images for Prada) Getty Images for Prada Best-dressed celebrities at Milan Fashion Week SS20 gettyimages-1175561665.jpg MILAN, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 18: Anna Dello Russo attends Prada Spring/Summer 2020 Womenswear Fashion Show on September 18, 2019 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images for Prada) Getty Images for Prada Best-dressed celebrities at Milan Fashion Week SS20 gettyimages-1175561469.jpg MILAN, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 18: Chiara Ferragni attends Prada Spring/Summer 2020 Womenswear Fashion Show on September 18, 2019 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images for Prada) Getty Images for Prada Best-dressed celebrities at Milan Fashion Week SS20 gettyimages-1175561407.jpg MILAN, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 18: Anna Wintour attends Prada Spring/Summer 2020 Womenswear Fashion Show on September 18, 2019 in Milan, Italy. 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Despite Pornhub asserting that illegal videos are removed swiftly when flagged, investigations into the site prove otherwise. After the owners of US independent film label Girls Do Porn were charged with federal sex trafficking in October last year, the only action Pornhub took was to remove the company’s official page from its website (which took three days), while videos by the film label still exist on Pornhub via unofficial uploaders. An investigation by The Sunday Times the following month found that Pornhub is flooded with secretly filmed “creepshots” of UK schoolgirls, hosting clips of men performing sex acts in front of teenagers on buses and indecent images of children as young as three.

How then does a host to such dangerous footage find itself supported by an organisation as progressive as New York Fashion Week? This isn’t Pornhub’s first rodeo when it comes to mainstream advertising. Since 2014, the site has been marketing itself extensively as a brand that goes beyond adult entertainment, jumping on the back of social activism to bolster its cause; whether that’s saving trees, bees or the ocean. And in an attempt to cater to female users, recent marketing has sold Pornhub as a space for women to enjoy and explore porn, including one campaign encouraging women to masturbate while on their period (like we ever needed permission from a porn site to orgasm). But this latest collaboration peddling female empowerment is the most troubling yet, given the website’s associations with the abuse of women and children.

A brand that hides behind the guise of feminism is even more dangerous than one that overtly rejects it.

Since its pursuit of the mainstream, Pornhub has secured high-profile advertisement deals, which have come under fire following investigations into the content it hosts. Dollar Shave Club, a men’s grooming company owned by global consumer giant Unilever, ran a campaign on Pornhub last year, promoting its razor subscription service. Following the Sunday Times’ investigation, Unilever vowed that none of its brands would advertise on Pornhub again, labelling the illegal content the website hosts as “deeply troubling”, but the response from the shaving company’s creative director, Matt Knapp, is far more telling.

Addressing the partnership between Pornhub and Dollar Shave Club, Knapp said the decision was made because Pornhub “had guys’ backs”. What about having women’s backs? The victims of rape, revenge porn and non-consensual filming who feature on Pornhub for male entertainment? It seems that some companies are willing to profit from a website that distributes illegal content if it means dudes can stick together. A service that often comes at the cost of women’s safety is no big deal because... guys need razors.