Kat Clark Defends Daughter’s Fashion Launch Amid Diversity Criticism

TikTok sensation Kat Clark has landed herself in hot water over a launch event for her 14-year-old daughter’s latest fashion brand collaboration. 

Sunny Dé, the brand owned by Kat’s daughter Deja, held an event last week to celebrate its upcoming collection with Supré. 

The brand documented the exclusive event on TikTok, sharing footage of a group of young models and influencers wearing the garments at a chic luncheon. 

The video sparked a wave of backlash however, with users slamming the apparent lack ethnic diversity among the guest list. 

‘Would love to see some brown, black, people, people of colour and all sizes,’ one user wrote.

‘I’d like to see diversity, more people of colour,’ someone else wrote, as a third agreed: ‘I would like to see diversity whether that’s colour or size.’

Kat, who is heavily involved in Deja’s business, hit back at the accusations in a lengthy TikTok video. 

‘Today was supposed to be a big moment for Deja, but instead she’s being accused of not having People of Colour at her event,’ she began. 

Kat went on to point out that Deja had chosen a Woman of Colour as the face of the collection. 

Deja is herself of Filipino and South African Heritage. 

‘When it came to selecting a model, it was really important for Deja to choose a Woman of Colour,’ Kat said. 

She noted that Deja grew up feeling isolated as the only Black student at her Australian school, saying: ‘Kids would tease her all the time. There are only about 1.3 per cent Black Africans living in Australia.’ 

‘Now, because Deja was the only African girl at her school, she made a lot of white friends. I mean, it’s pretty hard to make friends with other black girls when you’re the only one in the school.’

Kat added that many guests at the event were Deja’s friends, and emphasised that the guest did in fact include women of ethnically diverse backgrounds. 

‘We didn’t invite people to this event based on their skin colour. This was about celebrating Deja, her first-ever event, a 14-year-old Black Australian business owner who was showing young girls everywhere that their dreams are possible, even if they do feel different,’ she concluded. 

Australian-African influencer Kristine Achayo wasn’t impressed by Kat’s explanation, sharing a response video to her own TikTok page shortly after. 

‘This is just mind-boggling,’ she began. 

‘I can name so many, so many, Black influencers in Australia that have either an agency or they’re very active on socials and they have emails you can reach out to directly,’ Kristine said. 

After naming several influencers she could have invited, Kristine added: ‘These are content creators that are active. They are Black. They are People of Colour. They fit the niche.’

She continued: ‘I think this was just such a naive comment to make because even though there’s not many Black people in Australia, there’s a lot on the internet.’