A decade ago, Dolce & Gabban a offered a gaggle of fashion bloggers seats in the front row of its Milan show. It was the moment the internet’s troublesome commentators were recognized as too influential to ignore.

Last fall, Dolce & Gabbana was roasted for an advertisement that was bigoted toward Chinese people and for subsequent racist direct messages sent from the account of one of its founders, Stefano Gabbana (the company said his account had been hacked). It felt like the loop had been closed: The fashion brand was being morally reproached by just the sort of independent voice to which it had once tossed a bejeweled megaphone.

That voice was Diet Prada, an Instagram account that has become an industry watchdog, and also an industry success.

Prominent Chinese models and celebrities blasted the brand, and some consumers not only boycotted the company but also destroyed Dolce & Gabbana merchandise they already owned. The brand was compelled to cancel a show in Shanghai. It took the founders a week to apologize; their press office declined a request to comment on how much money they lost, or on anything having to do with a certain Instagram account.