Who Is Stephan Marsan? Brandy Melville CEO Accused Of Bigotry

Stephan Marsan is the CEO of the fashion company Brandy Melville. In a lawsuit, Marsan and the company are being accused of various bigoted practices, including banning Black and fat employees and having executives who made jokes about the Holocaust.

Stephan Marsan Lawsuit Details

Allegations Made By Luca Rotondo, Former Senior VP. “Luca Rotondo, a former senior vice president at the company, alleged that the discriminatory policies were led by CEO Stephan Marsan, who opened the first Brandy Melville stores in Italy in the ’90s then expanded to the U.S. in 2009. “If she was Black, if she was fat… he didn’t want them in the store,” Rotondo said.” [Daily Beast]

Suit: Marsan, Executives Had Secret Chat With Hitler Memes. “Staff claimed Marsan and other top executives had a group chat where they would share racist and sexist memes, including one that featured Hitler, and fostered a toxic work culture that exploited young women and was openly racist and discriminatory. ” [Daily Mail]

Manager: Brandy Melville Looked For “Skinny” And “White” Blondes To Hire. “”There was no sugarcoating it… It was, ‘She is skinny, white, blond, and pretty—let’s hire her,'” said one anonymous former New York regional manager.” [Raw Story]

Brandy Melville Employees: Pay Based On Looks, Black Employees Put In Storeroom. “Eight employees who worked for the company from 2013 until now said an employee’s pay was often based solely on her photo—those who were more attractive were offered a higher rate. Black employees, meanwhile, were often relegated to the storeroom or quiet hours, then replaced when a white girl was hired, employees said.” [Yahoo]

Brandy Melville Partner Pacsun “Troubled” By Allegations. “The brand is “deeply troubled by the allegations raised, as the conduct described runs fully counter to Pacsun’s values,” a company spokesperson told Insider in an emailed statement. “We are taking this matter very seriously and looking into the situation to make a determination on next steps.” ” [Insider]

2020 Lawsuit Accused Marsan Of Racism. “The suit claims that Marsan also complained “that they needed to hire ‘attractive white girls’ that would fit in the aforementioned ‘image’ of Brandy Melville brand, that they shouldn’t have hired the manager of the Newmarket store because she was ‘short and fat’ and they should close that store as well because of the clientele in the store.”” [SMDP]

Brand Is Popular With Influencers, Instagram. “Celebrities including pop star Ariana Grande wear Brandy Melville line. It is such a phenomenon on Instagram it is dubbed as the first retail ‘Insta-brand’.” [Global Brands Magazine]