Kookai is being slammed for body-shaming customers
A popular and trendy Aussie clothing store for woman is being called out online, with women saying they will never return.
Australian-owned women’s fashion chain Kookai is being called out online by multiple women for body-shaming customers.
An anonymous woman wrote a scathing post about the brand in a popular Melbourne Facebook group.
“Why are Kookai workers so stuck up? I’m a size medium, and the looks I get copped as soon as I walk in made me uncomfortable. Has anyone else dealt with this before?”
The post received comments from other women sharing eerily similar experiences.
“Kookai are the worst! I went in looking for a pair of trousers I’d seen online and could only find a pair of size 6’s on the floor. I asked the worker for my normal size 8, and she said to me, ‘I don’t think we stock your size here’.”
Someone else wrote: “I’ve never been more humiliated in my life, and as someone that has struggled with body image, I can tell you I’ll never go back there.”
Another shared: “I walked in there once, got side-eyed, and ignored while they helped all the thinner people.”
“This has been happening for years. They are well-known for it, and they do tend to fat-shame their customers,” someone added.
“I never walk in there because I know how many people this has happened to!” one declared.
News.com.au has made repeated attempts to get comment from Kookai.
Kookai is famous for its bodycon dresses and stretchy yet flattering signature fabrics. It also stocks a limited size range of size 6 to 14.
The subculture of women being body-shamed at Kookai is so loud there are content creators on TikTok poking fun of their in-store experience and are using popular sounds to joke about how horrified Kookai workers are at having to serve anyone above a size 8.
Charlene Stojanovski, 32, was left appalled after she visited a Kookai store in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire.
“I went to see what the Kookai hype was about when they first came out. As I was entering the store, I could see the staff laughing and giggling among themselves, but before I could fully enter the store, they stopped their happy chatter and looked at me up and down; I could sense that they were scanning me, my handbag and the jewellery I’m wearing,” she shared.
“I browsed through their clothing, and there was nothing on the rack past a size 8. I sheepishly asked if they had larger sizes, and one of the staff said, ‘Oh honey, I’m sorry, we only cater for the petite’.
“She answered my question like it was the dumbest thing I could ask them, almost condescendingly.”
Ms Stojanovski found the whole experience so upsetting that she hasn’t returned since, even when she sees something she likes in their window display.
“I felt demoralised, judged and dismissed because of my body size and appearance. I do not want to spend my money at a place that doesn’t treat their customers equally and nicely.”
Hanna was exposed to the brand when she was looking for a gift.
“I went to buy a voucher there for my size 8 sister. I was a size 16 at the time, and when I walked in, the two girls working and talking to each looked at me and started giggling,” she said. “They then completely ignored me until one of them came up about 10 minutes later and asked if I was lost because I wouldn’t find anything to fit me in their store.”
“It is just not a nice time. Kookai doesn’t want people like me wearing their clothes,” Hanna told news.com.au.
A Google Review left by a customer that visited their Parramatta store dives into the ongoing problem.
“Truly such a horrible experience when visiting this store. The sales assistants make it a point that if you do not look or act like them they will not serve you or even acknowledge you!” they wrote.
“A friend and I visited this store recently and we were blatantly ignored and proactively avoided to a point where I tried approaching a group of sales assistants near the counter and not only did they look at me rudely, they walked away and dispersed.”
Kookai responded to the review, “We are disappointed to hear that this has been your experience at our Parramatta boutique.
“At Kookai, we always want to ensure our customers are provided a high level of service while in our boutiques and we share your disappointment on this occasion.
“Please give our Customer Service Team a call on (03) 8290 0500 if you would like to discuss this further.”
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